Thanks to: Meg (who's currently churning out chapters of her newest fanfic like there's no tomorrow), Spongey (Knights of Cydonia rules!) and Sokai (you're more than welcome buddess).
No Thanks To: Toon Disney (for annoying Meg so much) and BBC (who decided to show the final of the Australian Open instead of last weekend's episode of WITCH - the second to last episode in Season One too!)
A Big Middle Finger to: Andy D'Urso, the inept / biased referee who cost my beloved Bristol Rovers victory in their FA Cup match at Derby last Saturday.
Random Quote: That's it! Who put the bunny in the toilet? This is not funny! Who thinks this is funny? Well whoever is doing this, if you think you can break me that easily, you are wrong. You can take my bunny, but you can't take my spirit! (Ugly Betty)
Hearts were heavy and heads were hung low as the girls trudged up the stairs into the Teachers Quarters, particularly Taranee - after all, she had seen her best friend snatched away twice in as many days now, and this time it was made a lot worse by one single aspect - it was a sure thing that Will was in very real danger, and that thought just stuck in Taranee's mind like a spiteful little bee-sting. She felt that right now nothing could cheer her up... not even the soft, cheerful flowing music that gently wafted its way down the corridor as they approached Tegryn's room, accommpanied by some happy singing.
Laa laa laa laa laaaa... LA LA! LA LA! Laa laa laa laa laaaa... LA LA! LA LA!
"Hmmm? Sounds like a waltz... the 'Blue Danube', I think." said Bloom.
"And it's coming from Teggy's pad - I guess lessons are over!"
Sure enough, when Musa opened the door to his room, she (and everyone else) was treated to quite a peculiar sight, for there was Tegryn dressed in a smart light grey suit, twirling in time to the music in the centre of the room with Tune, who laid a forearm on one of his outstretched palms and held the index finger of his other hand with her leading hand. Sat on his bed were Mirta, Anyuna, Mimi and Nini, laughing their heads off whilst singing (or attempting to sing) their own jolly musical accompaniment. Musa couldn't help but burst out laughing when she saw this.
"Are you two waltzing?" she said, trying her best not to snigger too loudly.
"Yes. It's a VIENNESE Waltz, to be precise!" Tune replied.
"Yeah Musie, it's a VIENNESE Waltz - can't you tell the difference? Sheesh!" Tegryn added jokingly. "I gotta say though, Tune makes a fine dance partner. Sure, the size difference makes things a bit awkward, but at least I don't have to worry about treading on her toes!" He then bowed politely to his dance partner before going over the greet his little darling.
Mirta and the Starz-sans-Charlotte smiled at this, but their smiles soon dropped when they noticed the glum expressions on the faces of their visitors, especially Taranee, who stared down at the floor with big, doleful eyes, her cheeks still streaked with telltale patches of wetness.
"Taranee? What happened?" Tegryn asked.
"Oh Teggy, it was terrible. Will's been kidnapped." she sighed.
"Kidnapped? Oh man." Mimi said, putting a comforting arm around the Fire Guardian. "Well don't you worry 'Ranee."
"Yeah, we'll get her back, no probs! You come and chill with us buddess, while we figure this thing out." Nini added as she followed her sister's lead, putting her own arm around Taranee as they sat down together.
"So who took her then?" Tegryn asked.
"We don't know, but it was big... and I mean BIG. It was like nothing we've ever seen before." said Tecna. "And to make matters worse, it was completely impervious to all of our attacks. We were all totally powerless to stop it."
"Whatever it was, it said it's master was after the Heart of Kandrakar... and that means Will's in danger. We gotta do something." Taranee said, her fearful tone adding an edge to her normally soft voice.
"Any clues on where it may have taken her?"
"Actually Teggy, we were hoping Mirta could help us with that." Bloom replied, much to the young witch's surprise.
"Me? I don't understand..." Mirta started before realising just what Bloom was referring to. "Ah yes, I see what you mean. One Eavesdropping Spell coming up!"
She stood up and turned her back on the others before raising her hands slightly and beginning the short incantation.
Search high and low
Every cranny and nook
Find who took Will
And let us look!
At Mirta's command, a small swirling white mass quickly appeared in front of the group and an image started to come into focus. There in the middle of the picture was Will, struggling to get free of some unseen force that held her fast against a stoney wall. In front of her stood the Ifrit along with three unmistakable, and unwanted, forms.
"Icy, Darcy and Stormy," Bloom muttered. "I should've known they'd have something to do with this."
"Darcy? Ooh, so THAT'S the one who gave Teggy his powers." Irma said. "I'm so glad my Big Irm didn't turn out like her!"
"You're telling me L'il Teg - I mean, can you imagine me wearing that eyeshadow?" Tegryn replied.
"That's pretty frightening... but not as frightening as THAT!" said Musa, taking a closer look as another figure strode into view. "Is that Darkar?"
"Who's Darkar?" Cornelia asked. "No, wait, don't tell me - he's yet another 'conquer-everything-in-sight bad guy', right?"
"Right. And I tell you now, I'm NOT digging his new look one bit."
"I'm with you there, Musa." Stella tutted. "Just look at him. I mean, HORNS? That is so medieval!"
"Shhh!" said Bloom, "Let's hear what they're saying..."
"What... have you done to me?" said Will, shaking her head in a vain effort to wriggle free from the unseen force that held her.
"Just a paralysis spell." Darkar replied coldly. "I thought it would be more... humane... than just chaining you up."
"Humane?" Icy snorted in disbelief. "Since when do you do humane?"
Darkar laughed. "When you have enough power to rip a realm in half, it tends to put you in a good mood. You should try it some time. Now then little girl - where's the Heart of Kandrakar?"
"She withdrew it into herself." the Ifrit spoke in his intimidatingly deep voice. (1)
"Idiot!" Stormy muttered. "Why didn't you just grab it and bring it here when you had the chance?"
The Ifrit looked down at the weather witch in contempt. "My orders were to bring the girl here."
"Yes, and a most entertaining job you did too. You certainly left your mark on that shopping mall!" Darkar complimented him before turning his attentions back to his prisoner. "Now then Miss Vandom - hand over the Heart."
"Never!"
"Yes, I thought you'd say that. So you withdrew it into your body, eh? In that case, I'll just have to rip it out of you!" the dark one yelled as he suddenly lunged at Will with an outstretched hand... but as he did so, he had a unscheduled change of plan - an intense field of energy suddenly erupted around Will, powerful enough to send Darkar and the others flying backwards - even the gigantic Ifrit was forced to take a few steps back. Furiously, Darkar stood up and glared at Will.
"Why you impudent little..." he snarled before stopping in mid-sentence as he realised what had just happened. "That wasn't YOU who did that, now was it? It was the Heart - it was protecting you."
"You just don't understand, do you? I couldn't give the Heart away even if I wanted to. The Heart has chosen me as its master, and it will do everything to make sure it stays that way." Will nervously explained.
"Really?" Darkar said thoughtfully as he pondered his next move. "I suppose you think I should just give up and left you go, huh?"
"Well, that IS an idea..."
"Yes... unfortunately for you, that idea's just not on the cards right now." he said as he raised his hand. From out of nowhere, Will was once more surrounded by the Heart's protective field as it fought to keep a wispy green shroud of energy at bay. "You can defy me all you want, but sooner or later your defences will be worn down, and when it does, you will be my willing slave. And when that happens, you will lead our conquest of Kandrakar yourself!"
The halls of Shadowhaunt were soon filled with his demonic laughter, which echoed through every corridor, invaded every crevice... then stopped abruptly as Darkar looked over his shoulder with a smile.
"Ah... I do hope your little friends managed to catch all of that. If they want you back, they'll have to come here and get you! Of course, that's why I insisted on this girl being brought over here - so you three could have some fun with your favourite fairies." he said, glancing over towards the Trix. "And just to make things a bit more interesting, I'll fix it to make sure they take the scenic route to Shadowhaunt!"
Without warning, the floating images conjured up by Mirta exploded in her face in a shower of sparks, making her jump back in fright.
"That's impossible!" she gasped, "He knew we were watching him!"
"And what you suppose he meant by 'when you have enough power to rip a realm in half'?" Tegryn asked. "Man, I hope that's nothing to do with his new look."
"Me too. Well, at least we know for sure where Will is now. We'd better get going." said Anyuna.
"Right. Just let me get changed first." Tegryn replied as he carefully took his jacket off to reveal a plain white T-shirt underneath.
"Whoa there boy!" Musa shouted frantically, just as Tegryn went to unbuckle his belt. "Babe, much as I'd love to see you without your pants for the first time, this really ain't the time or place for that right now!"
Tegryn sighed, thankful that Musa had stopped him - in his eagerness to rescue to get out there and their friend, he had come frighteningly close to showing off more than he'd wanted, especially to Irma and what remained of the Heatherfield Five - and he was self-conscious enough as it was. "You're right Musie, the Teggy show will have to wait. Let's go get Will!"
With typically minimal effort he conjured up a portal to Shadowhaunt - he was rather proud of his portalling skills as it was virtually the only magic he had true control over, and it more than made up for his lousy sense of direction. In this case however, things weren't going to go according to plan for no sooner had the portal opened, a massive blast shot out from it, striking Tegryn full-on and, to Musa's horror, sending him straight through his own front door with a loud crash and a shower of wooden splinters.
"TEGGY! Teggy, are you okay?"
As a panic-stricken Musa rushed over to where he lay, Tegryn slowly picked himself up from the corridor floor, muttering angrily to himself as he rubbed the back of his already-sore head.
"Oh man, I'm getting sick to death of this bloody floor. Surely a bit of padding wouldn't go amiss."
"Hmmm - this is interesting," Tecna murmured as she sat on the bed and watched her wrist-comp churn out a ton of data. "I'm detecting some sort of energy field enclosing the area around Alfea... some sort of portal-blocker, and it's emanating from Shadowhaunt."
"A portal-blocker?" Tegryn tutted. "Looks like tall, dark and ugly's gonna be right about us taking the scenic route after all."
"So how are we gonna get there?" Musa asked. "I'm guessing there aren't many buses going near Gloom Central."
"Yeah, and not all of us can fly neither." said Cornelia, obviously frustrated at not being able to transform.
"Oh yes we can!" Tecna replied as she tapped a few buttons. "Luckily for us, Timmy's given me the keys to his new speeder, so to speak!"
"Timmy's bought a new speeder? I never knew he was THAT rich." Stella remarked.
"No no - this was something of a summer project of his. He designed it himself, and virtually built it all too." Tecna looked out of the window into the sky, where a small glinting speck could barely be seen. "Good, it's on its way. Come on!" she said as she started to walk out to the courtyard. The others followed, with Tegryn bringing up the rear after trying desperately to clear away some of his room's ex-door. They had only gone a few yards when he clopped himself on the forehead.
"Oh hang on, I've forgotten something. Carry on without me, I'll be back in a mo!" he shouted as he raced back into his room, hastily opened the bottom drawer of his dresser and grabbed something from inside it. Just as he was about to run out and rejoin the others, he stopped. Trembling, he slowly opened his hand and peered at what he was holding... and as he did so, a torrent of bad memories came flooding into his mind. He shuddered as he closed his hand and screwed his eyes shut for a few seconds.
"I don't care how powerful Darkar may be... I hope I NEVER have to use this."
1. Just a little footnote to explain - in the comic book, the Heart merges with the keeper's body when not in use.