Story: Remember me

Plot: A battle with Phobos proves to be difficult and life threatening, as a certain guardian is affected the most. Will the rest of W.I.T.C.H and the rebels be able to bring her back?

Chapter 21: New World

The group were a few feet away from the fold, and they stopped. It was yellow and orange, much brighter than any portal they had seen before.

"Alright, I'm surprised no one's actually noticed these things before, I mean they are huge!" Irma exclaimed, only to receive a glare from Cassandra. The water guardian glared back at her, but snapped out of the stare after Taranee spoke up.

"G-Guys..."

They all looked at the fire guardian, who was pointing towards the portal, trembling in fear.

Will peered inside, only to be sucked in to the world. She shrieked in fear, as her voice slowly faded on the other side.

"Will!" Hay Lin and Irma screamed in unison, as they flew behind her, along with Taranee, Cassandra and Caleb behind them.

They all jumped down on the ground, to see Will laying still. She moaned in pain, and turned on her side, while blocking the sunlight from her face. "What...is that...?"

The redhead extended her arm to gesture towards the thing that had pulled her through the portal. It was a large beast, with a wicked face. Its tail was large and scaly, along with his toned arms. The beast stood only a mere 10 feet away from them. Caleb instinctively pulled out his sword and assumed his fighting position, as Hay Lin managed to get Will up on her feet.

The beast rushed towards them at an alarming speed, as Caleb slashed at its side, creating a deep wound. It screeched in pain, but continued to move faster – this time, its target was Cassandra. She stood still for a while, and very slowly closed her eyes - as if to summon her energy. Instantly, she was floating in the air, as pair of large, grey wings was attached to her back. She flew out of the way and dodged the beast's attack.

"Water!" Irma washed away the beast, as it struggled to stand up. "What the heck is this thing?"

Will flew to her side, as she shot a beam of Quintessence at the monster. "I don't know, but- Taranee, look out!"

The fire guardian turned around and flew up in the air, just in time to dodge an oncoming attack from the beast. "Phew, that was close. Fire!" She let out a blaze, creating a barrier between herself and the beast. It was making its way towards her, but instantly stopped at the sight of the fire and screeched to a halt. It scraped its leg across the ground, before turning to face Caleb.

The rebel leader glared at the beast, as he gripped his hand tighter around his sword. He sliced the beast's leg, making it collapse a few feet away. Cassandra flew to the ground and held her fingers together. Almost immediately, shots of energy flung themselves towards the beast – that now lay motionless on the ground.

The group slowly got together on the ground – staring at the strange creature that seemed out of breath. It slowly rose to its feet and stared at them. They formed a fighting position, but were surprised to see the beast rushing in the opposite direction. Will let out a sigh, as Caleb slung his sword to his side, still panting.

"What...in the world...was that?" Irma asked again, to no one in particular. She walked a few paces away from them, looking out into the distance where the beast was no longer visible.

"I...have no idea..." Hay Lin whispered, as she examined their surroundings. The group were too busy being distracted by the beast that they had encountered, that they didn't take the time to look around them. They were standing on a large, rocky land, surrounded by lakes. There was a lot of fog surrounding some places, so it was difficult to see where they were going.

"Will, I think you should come and check this- Whoa!" Taranee's voice was cut off, as the others turned, trying to see where their friend could have gotten to. Her scream was accompanied by a sound of someone falling in the water.

"Taranee!" Will flew towards the direction of the noise. Hay Lin flew past the leader, and blew with all her might. The fog soon cleared, and they all turned to see a large river, the water flowing through it ferociously.

"Water!" Irma held her hands together and parted the river in two. Sure enough, Taranee was at the bottom of it all, knocked out. "Taranee!" the water guardian made her way to her and lifted her body up. The water was still floating in the air, and when they were safely away from it all, Irma made it go back down again.

The fire guardian groaned as she coughed and spluttered out some water. She fixed her glasses in place, as the others gathered around her.

"Maybe we've been through enough danger for today." Will settled, as she held Taranee's arm.

They slowly made their way back to the portal, and jumped across to the other side.

...

"Ugh, that...thing...will haunt my nightmares." Will muttered, as she dug her hands deeper in her pockets.

W.I.T.H, along with Caleb and Cassandra, were slowly trudging towards the Silver Dragon, after stepping out of the portal.

"In Irma's case, it'll probably haunt her daymares, too!" Hay Lin tried to lighten the mood, as she smiled, revealing all her teeth.

Irma glanced at her and smirked, "Yeah, you've got that right. Oh, if Corny were here-"

She cut herself off, and sighed. They were all silent for a while as they thought of her. The group didn't feel the same without her, and her absence was heavy among all of them.

Cassandra was walking behind them all, and she finally spoke up. "Corny?" she smirked at the name.

"Cornelia was...a part of our group." Will began, "I don't want that crystal to break us further apart." She glanced at the other guardians as she spoke, with a hint of fear in her voice.

"The earth guardian...I see. The Oracle told me about her."

Caleb was in front of them all, and at the mention of Cornelia's name, his heart sank. The girls hadn't talked to her properly in a long time. Who knows what could have happened to her since then.

The guardians were surprised at Cassandra – she had been much nicer to them since they first met. They all felt a lot more comfortable around her, but it still wasn't the same without Cornelia. All the girls in the group were important, and now that Cassandra had joined them for a while, it made them all realise just how important Cornelia was.

They finally arrived at the Silver Dragon, and all walked towards the basement. Just then, Yan Lin followed them and closed the door behind her for privacy.

"I'm glad you're all safe!" she exclaimed, as she walked over to her granddaughter. She gasped slowly once she saw their tired expressions and a few scratches from the fight.

Caleb nodded at her, "We'll all be okay, and we just need to rest for a while."

"Well, it's getting late. Shall we meet here tomorrow, same time?" Taranee yawned. The girls all agreed and so decided to leave for home.

"Yeah, Will, do you mind?" Cassandra glanced at the leader, who nodded and sliced open a fold in the basement. Cassandra nodded at them all before leaving for Candracar. Will closed the fold as the girls all filed out.

Will was about to leave the room when Caleb called her name. She turned around and walked over to him.

"Yeah, what is it?"

Caleb cleared his throat as he looked to the ground, "Have...uh...Have you girls checked on Cornelia recently?"

Will was silent for a while and she sighed, before shaking her head. "We don't know what to do, Caleb. She's avoiding us all the time and..." Will could feel a lump forming in her throat, but she shook her feelings aside as she continued. "Hay Lin said that...Well, she could be hiding things from us and..."

Caleb stood up and grabbed his jacket, "I'll go check on her."

Will turned to see him almost at the door, "Caleb, are you sure? I could go if you like."

He hesitated, before half turning to her and shaking his head. "No...There's something I need to sort out."

Will got the hint and nodded at him, before they both left the restaurant and left their separate ways.

A/N: I decided to post two chapters together, because I already had them written out.

What did you guys think? Ok, so the group have finally entered the new world and have received an unexpected welcome as the strange beast. Caleb has finally decided to swallow his pride and do something about his relationship with Cornelia. How will things turn out?