Here we are once again with a new chapter,
This one is a long one; I was having trouble writing it at the start, so only did it sporadically over the course of the week, but then I don't know, inspiration hit and I finally managed to get it done. Like I said, it is a big one, a little over 16,000 words so I hope those that read settle down and get comfortable.
I would like to thank 'Guest' for their comment. It was hard getting over her, and so I thank you for your condolences. I feel like I should explain more, you see—it was my cat who had died; she was as much a part of me as anyone else in my family and maybe even more… actually, she was, she was everything to me and she was at my side for twenty years. She got me through half of primary and all of high school, she was with me through my overall years of college and was all round the greatest cat a person could have; she was with me for so long that I could have sworn she was a feline version of Dorian Grey, so to know that she is gone now… it destroyed me, but I do feel like I am getting better, I have another cat that needs my attention as he was also with her for the first six years of his life, though he's not quite as torn up about it as I am, (more food) and so he's helping me also.
… wow, I feel like I have rambled, but that is what happens when I talk about her; I could just do so for ages as there truly isn't a cat that I've had that ever has, or will, compare.
Anyway, back on with the story and any mistake and typos I apologize for, the fact that I rambled I apologize for and I do hope everyone that does, enjoys reading.
I don't own WITCH.
Despite the fact that their task was over before the hour was out, Nemesis still woke up irritated. Once they had gone through the fold and arrived at the summit they were met by Khor and Nerissa who was looking utterly triumphant at yet another piece of her plan fitting into place. Transferring Yan-lin into Khors' waiting arms, both of them was dismissed with a wave of her hand, the other woman's attentions focused on her old friend as they watched them retire inside the mountain, before Shagon created another fold for them for the return to Heatherfield.
Making it back home quickly the blonde shot through the open window, left so for this exact moment as she very couldn't come through the front door, as she tucked her wings close to her back and forced her glamour back over, as she watched them shimmer from sight before divesting her clothes and throwing on an old shirt, crawled into bed; wanting to get as much sleep as she could she closed her eyes and let the sleep take over.
Unfortunately it wasn't to be; whatever deity she had managed to anger seemed hell bent on keeping her awake, or at least a demon child in the form of her sister as not long after she had sunk into blissful slumber, an ear splitting shriek had the whole house forcefully roused as noise from outside saw her Mother make her way into the now crying child's room, clearly having had a nightmare and tried her best to soothe the tears, much to the annoyance of the older girl who had now pushed herself into an upright position and was sitting in silent anger at the brat's constant wailing that carried on for twenty more minutes.
Grabbing her pillow she stormed from her room, giving a fleeting glance at the half open door a few feet down the hall of only to sneer and carried on down the stairs, where she crossed the large expanse of the main area of the apartment and to the other door which housed the entertainment room.
As every upper class family with large amounts of money should, they had an entertainment room, something of an envy of her friends when she bothered to invite them over as she made her way inside and over to the sofa on the other end; if there was a room that could block most noises out, it was this and so flopping down, she threw her pillow under her head before flicking her wrist as the room was bathed in darkness and on closing her eyes once more, willed her brain into sleep.
Four hours later and she was back up, having fully been used to the softness of her mattress for too long Nemesis once again found herself awake, but this time permanently as she glanced to the clock and saw that it was 6:15, a good time as any to start getting ready and so leaving the room, was greeted by the sight of her Dad sitting at the table drinking his last coffee before he left for the bank. On hearing the door open Harold turned to find his oldest leaving the room and spying the pillow in her hand, smiled grimly in understanding.
"If only I had that idea," he chuckled as she made her way over and coming to sit at the side of him. It wasn't to say that she didn't love both her parents equally, but as the older man leaned over and made her a cup of coffee, pushing it in front of her and then feeling the quick peck of his lips as he kissed her head, it was safe to say that
She was very much a daddy's girl.
Just like Lillian preferred their Mother who she could do no wrong with, Cornelia favoured the opposite parent who was more lenient in regards to how she lived her life, though her Mother might have liked her friends and a few of the activities she undertook, there was always room for small comments; tiny suggestions hinting at more dresses, maybe a few more after school activities on top of her already gruelling ice skating practices… she was sick of it, sick of her, it was partly a large factor in just why she favoured her Dad over the older woman and the reason why they never really speak.
Giving him a small smile of thanks he returned the gesture and got back to his paper, leaving her to stare at the contents of the mug. Since seeing him smile the familiar ache started to grow inside her chest, right where her heart was and she found herself once again at odds with her feelings. It had been known to come and go and unfortunately it had arrived once again leaving her conflicted as she stared down at the inky blackness the cup held within. On her awakening at the hands of Nerissa, could she really call it that when she had never closed her eyes? When the older woman helped her break free from the binds of society that seemed to decree how a person should act, leaving her with both good and bad parts unrestricted, it had also left a continuous warring that she felt was the root of her inner conflict most days, left her feeling confused as she tried to listen them, but often found that the bad side seemed to have a stronger grip on her psyche, though it didn't help when she was filled with the former guardian's desire for total destruction and reformation of a universe of her own design. The sheer power that flooded her body, flowing through her veins and heating her blood was something she couldn't describe. It was that never ending rush of euphoria which saw her other side come alive with unrepressed glory and it made her want and feel like she could do anything, so much so that she had no trouble obeying the orders that came from the other woman, as she and the others took delight in the obliteration that came from their titles.
But when things became mellow and she found herself in situations such as this, the one now she was sharing with her Dad, the immoral side seemed to slink back, retreating away from the forefront allowing the morally conscious side to emerge, allow it to lament the despicable acts committed by their hand, all under the name of Nerissa. But it wasn't just the shady side that seemed to vanish; it also took with it the feelings of pent up anger, disdain, coldness and other negative emotions that she felt take over when not around the knights. She felt the warmth that had been lacking for the longest time fill her body and giving her a sense of comfort; when he gave her a smile or a kiss or just attention that any parent should give their child, it made her want more of it.
Her thoughts then took her to Caleb; if her spending time with the company and basking in the attentions her Dad showered her with made her feel as if she was wrapped in a snug blanket, then the queens' commanding officer was a blazing fire that enfolded her completely. Recalling their time back in the cave, the kiss he gave her both lit up her body and had her melting into his embrace. His attention's scorched her entire being, leaving her with a blistering longing as hot as Taranee's strongest flames, and as breathless as Haylin's greatest windstorm; his touch filled every inch of her with warmth that nothing could equal and left her aching for more, when she was around him the feeling of completeness had never been so strong, the overwhelming urge to be as close to him… to hold him… to never let go, the feeling was so powerful that it rivalled the pure, direct desire for Nerissa's new world.
Only he had been horrified by her, rejecting her after seeing her true self, the look of utter disgust had cut her deep. Seeing his reaction to how she looked had never been more heart-breaking, and yet, for some absurd, stupid reason she had yet to define, she still wanted to be near him.
Wanted his touch. Wanted his warmth. Wanted him. It was illogical, how she could part hate him so for outright refusing her and yet the other half still want his love all the same; it was this and many other aspects of her life that saw both sides opposing in the fight to direct her moral compass and left her feeling confused and angry and wondering. Harold, having not sensed her inner struggle or caught the look of conflict on her face, quickly stood and snagging his case, pressed another kiss to her head before dropping a ten dollar note in front of her, knowing that later in the day, Elizabeth could no doubt get Lillian something and forget about Cornelia before taking his coat from the side and with a final goodbye, left for the bank, leaving her sitting at the island.
Though her solitude wasn't for very long, what her Dad had failed to mention was that Lillian stuck herself to their Mother like a koala and refused to let go; the clingy behaviour was what saw her in their bed, snuggled in tight between the two adults and was now the reason why she was skipping happily alongside the older woman who had risen to make breakfast. The little girl stopped her happy chatter (an odd occurrence seeing as she was a lousy morning person) on spying the sight of the older blonde sitting at the island, the gaze didn't go unnoticed as Elizabeth lifted her head and was surprised to find Cornelia already awake as she stared at her oldest in some confusion.
"Cornelia?"
Resisting the urge to roll her eyes at the tone, she merely smiled tightly before getting back to her now lukewarm coffee, still surprised at seeing both her children up before the sun Elizabeth moved further into kitchen before releasing Lillian's hand as she made her way towards the island; the sounds of a struggle as she clambered onto the tall chair had caused the other girls teeth to start itching.
"What are you doing up so early?"
Keeping her lips firmly attached to the rim of the cup, she didn't speak as she made sure to linger in drinking, earning a small huff from her side as Lillian, forced to wait, made her displeasure at being ignored shown. Inwardly smirking it wasn't until the sound of the woman's voice breaking her small victory had her turning her head.
She scowled at the disproving look coming from Mother Hale as she eyed the pair, before her eyes landed specifically on the oldest girl.
"Your sister asked you a question, Cornelia. Be polite and answer her, don't be rude."
Resisting every urge telling her to throw the cup, the secret knight instead closed her eyes as the anger from the mild rebuttal, and the very clear smirk coming from her side saw them open again, as she gave the still frowning woman a look of annoyance, one that didn't go unnoticed, before turning her head to the crowing child.
"I'm up because of your babyish whining last night. Couldn't get back to sleep because all I could hear was the blubbering noise coming from your room…"
Returning to her cup she paid no heed to the now look of tiny fury emitting from Lillian, as she carried on.
"Though I can see why you're up this early; little baby's always seem to wake first so it's not surprising."
"MOM!"
"Cornelia!"
Having had enough, the older girl abruptly stood and let the cup fall the few inches from her hand, giving the younger child a look of scorn, followed by a similar expression of disparagement the older woman's way, who leaned back a little, shocked at the look of icy ire coming from her, before she pushed away from the island and went to get ready. The irritation and tiredness she felt from before now returning in waves as she stormed upstairs to get ready for the day ahead.
"I hear queen Corny is on the warpath today,"
That was the news going around as they made their way into school that morning. It had surprised them all seeing as usually the older girl either walked with them in the mornings, but since her forced defection, she had taken to coming in just under the bell and so to find that she beat them that day was confusing as Haylin turned towards Irma who had spoken.
"How do you know that?"
"Martin," was the simple reply, as she glared furiously in the direction of Will and Taranee; having not forgotten the other day, she skewered them with a hard stare.
"Don't even… he has a number, purely for K-ship purposes… K-SHIP ONLY!"
Piercing them once more before turning to the front, a small mumble could be heard as she quietly spoke to herself this time.
"He knows… he knows that now." before giving herself a nod as they moved closer to the doors, she resumed conversation.
"Well from what he said, she's already made Marcy dell cry and he quotes, if there is ever such a thing 'came in looking like the seven levels of hell had finally found its way onto earth.' kinda stupid if you ask me"
"Well he's not wrong," Taranee held the doors open as they made their way inside, "We all know from past experience just how temperamental she can be; to be honest I'm a little surprised it's taken her this long to blow up… if Martin was right."
"Well I'll see if that's true in…" Will checked her watch. "Five minutes—three if we take out registration."
A small mumble saw the red-head being consoled with once again the other three thanking themselves lucky they were a year below as they split up and moved to their respective tutor rooms. Having History first meant that she didn't have to walk very far and so Will made it to the class first, as she sat down and took out her things watching the class slowly started to fill and when the teacher finally arrived that was when she saw the flash of blonde. Catching sight of her face, Will knew Martin had been right as the thunderous look of murder the other girl wore as she made her way inside had those around her treading carefully.
Throwing her bag and herself down, no one dared to try and speak to her, as Nemesis took the time to breathe; the lack of sleep really had been draining her and the coffee only had been giving her sporadic bursts of energy, it didn't help at all with her tiredness induced headache and the rambling crowds around proved more a detrimental than usual, as she decided to try and find an empty classroom before the start of lessons.
Moving away from the groups outside, she wandered the halls before something solid bumping into her forced her to take a step back, and already extremely annoyed at how her morning had gone, didn't hesitate to snap at the moron who had dared get in her way, as she glanced down at the small form of the mousy looking girl who had the misfortune to be in front of her.
Already shy and lacking any semblance of confidence, Marcy practically folded underneath the heated and poisonous stare given by the angry blonde. As she stammered out apologies to the increasingly vexed older girl.
"Will you shut up!"
Hearing the chilling hiss, Marcy couldn't have closed her mouth fast enough as the other girl stared at her through narrowed eyes; this was exactly the type of thing she had been trying to avoid and so rather than chew the quaking girl out, Nemesis gave her one last lingering look of derision before carrying on her way, sweeping past and not giving a second glance back, as she rounded the corner leaving Marcy alone and in silence, until she burst into tears. That was how Martin had found her and knowing how the school life treated people like him, made to help his fellow nerd and once she had managed to mumble out a name under the waterworks, it made sense to the head geek who then helped with her things off the floor and set off down the corridor.
Judging by how she was sat it was clear she not want to be disturbed. The almost guarded way she sat—stiffened the point her shoulder blades could have sliced a person they were held so sharp, the near hostile looks she gave those who dared glance at her and the all-round frigidness the air seemed to have dropped to around her table, ensured that anyone with half a brain and liked life stayed away from her, something Wil had no problem doing as a small vibration had her reaching for her phone to see a text from Taranee.
Reading it over, her stomach did a flip as she gazed down at the short paragraph about the newly scheduled practise Nigel had invited her to again and since Matt was going to be there, wondered if she wanted to come. Since Knickerbocker had done the impossible, almost as if from the twilight zone and had actually given them half a day off, school was only on until lunch; anyone who wished to stay to help organize the concert stage could, everyone else in a nice roundabout way had to bugger off lest they become nuisances and so the band was using the free time for a quick rehearsal. Before she knew what she doing a quick one worded answer saw the reply being sent, as she slid her phone back inside her pocket and got on with the beginning of the lesson.
As the day finally came to a merciful end, Nemesis wasted no time in making a break for the doors, only to be accosted by Jasmine and Katie, the two other ice skaters in their year as she fought the need to sigh and with resigned defeat, found herself in the middle of them as they walked towards the exit.
"Thank god Knickerbocker decided to be cool for once."
Katie laughed as she nudged on the door. "Yeah, whoever managed to get that stick out of her arse, we need to send a thank you note,"
"Or a fruit basket."
The two descended into giggles as the blonde merely listened on silently, eager to simply leave she headed for the entrance like all the others, only to find her arm snagged and turned in the opposite direction. Looking down in shock it took her a few seconds to gather her bearings and lifted her head, ready to snap at the other girl who had seemingly took it upon herself to manhandle her, but was stopped from speaking when she turned around.
"It doesn't take a genius to work out you've been stressed today,"
'Stress is the last word I would have said,' Nemesis thought grimly as they set off in the direction of the building on the far end of the school, it wasn't until they got a little closer did she know where they were headed.
"I haven't brought my skates."
Undeterred Jasmine kept on pulling, ignoring any protests as she called back over her shoulder.
"You have a spare pair in your locker. It's mandatory that we do."
With that nothing else was said and defeated to the fact that there was no getting out of it; the blonde allowed herself to be pulled along and losing any hopes of a swift exit.
Back in the main building Will and Taranee made their way to the theatre, moving down towards the centre stage where the platform had been accosted by the band, and the entire floor had been strewn with music equipment, with Nigel looking up from tuning his bass to see them arrive. Taranee blushed slightly at his beaming grin as he placed his bass down and hurried over them.
"Hey!"
"Hi,"
Will looked between the two, a small hint of a smirk on her lips as he then turned to her, a faint trace of redness on his face as he greeted her also it was silent for a moment the growing awkwardness mounting, until it looked like he was about to say something, but one of the band members beat him to it.
"Nigel, hurry up! We don't have that long to rehearse,"
The auburn haired boy turned around and gave him a wave, before looking back, his face still a picture of growing awkwardness as he finally spoke.
"Alright… so if you guys just wanna… I don't know—sit down," he gestured to the chairs as both girls nodded and with one last fleeting smile he turned and made his way back to the stage, leaving them to move to their seats. Moving down to the front they both sit in the middle as to get the best view.
"I wonder what song they'll be using to perform with."
Taranee shrugged, her eyes were firmly on the bass player as he joked with the keyboardist, before dropping to his arms as they resumed tuning his bass; a furtive glance caught the not so subtle looks earning a snort of laughter which broke the fire guardian from her delightful gazing and turned her head to the direction of the snort to find amused amber eyes dancing with mirth. On catching sight of the knowing look on her friends face, Taranee quickly turned red, a shade not often known to the studious girls face making Will even more amused as finally she muttered under her breath.
"Oh shut up,"
Before turning back to the front. Just as Will was about to tease her some more, the side entrance opened and they both turned to find Shagon making his way through; the faux covered Matt strode over the boards and to where the band was setting up, a slight swagger to his gait just as he caught sight of the two sitting below.
Will's eyes narrowed as she shot the angel a look of pure hate, something seemingly amusing to the knight who merely smirked wider in return of the pure venom sent his way, just as Nigel turned to find his lead and singer.
"Yo Matt! Hurry up! We don't have all that long, Knickerbocker will kick us out if we don't start soon."
He trailed off, a shudder going through him at the thought of just who else wanted the stage to practise, Alchemy wasn't a person he knew too well, but her voice was infamous and he had heard it once and the sound of strangled cats being tossed around in a bag came to mind. Shagon looked to the other boy, an eye roll already waiting but moved forwards nonetheless, shooting the guardian leader once last look of smugness before monopolized, down at the bottom, the pair still scowled hatefully at his turned back; it was inevitable that they would have to see him, even if they hadn't that day, but the more that she did the more she found she couldn't even stand five minutes near him anymore. If they didn't find the real Matt soon, she didn't know what was going to happen as Taranee hissed under her breath, eyes still on Shagon.
"Why couldn't he have fallen in a ditch on the way over?"
Will scoffed bitterly, having turned from the shade of her boyfriend. "You know he's too smart for something that simple."
"One could hope,"
"Yeah," she lifted her head at exactly the wrong time and caught his line of sight once more. The crystal blue eyes that had once been friendly now stared back at her with sadistic glee and shook her head.
"One can only just."
On the other side of the school Haylin was having the time of her life, well, not completely, seeing as she was stuck in a room with the creeper trio, but she was also stuck in a room with Eric. The boy of her dreams since the start of the year, he had finally taken notice of her and she had been floating on the clouds ever since. It had been hard at first, what with him being popular and always surrounded by the cheerleaders, and she nothing but a shy, (save around her friends) artist it was like the beginning of a cliché romance novel and so she had hid; did her best to ignore him in the hopes of getting over her desperate and very unreciprocated crush, that was until he and his grandpa started coming to the restaurant. Having just moved house and being the undomesticated people they both were, had no way of being able to cook and so relied on takeaways, something Haylin didn't mind at all as the more he came the more he started observing and on realizing that they went to same school, started acknowledging her existence.
That wasn't to say he was mean, one of the best things about him that she liked so much, was how sweet and considerate he was, there wasn't an unkind bone in his body and he proved that by greeting her in the hallways and defending her from the other idiot jocks who questioned why he did such a thing. He was the nicest boy and he had such a great smile, his half impish grin was so boyish that she couldn't help but feel weak kneed each time it was aimed her way. Personally she didn't think she'd find any boy attractive, not at least until collage anyway, but now that she had his attention, and was growing more each day, she would never let it go.
So when he invited her to the observatory once they had managed to clean it up to gaze at the stars, she squealed, when he had gently kissed her cheek at the end of the evening she nearly fainted, it was then that their budding relationship started to grow and had been getting better ever since. But on hearing how he planned to enter the talent contest and with Uriah of all people, understandably she was very concerned. Which was how she came to find herself suck in a room with the three people Cornelia humiliated, and if the evil glares he was subtly throwing her way was anything to by, he must have known they were friends and blamed them all by association.
Standing in front of the three, Eric stared at them determined. It had been over a week now since he had been trying to pin them down for rehearsals but each time the other boy waved him off proclaiming his natural talent would ensure they would win, no matter if they practised or not; but Eric wasn't having it, being a boy who enjoyed playing his instruments he also liked to hone his skills and make them better, so he practised when he could, and this was no different in fact it was crucial that he needed to be practising and so after venting his fury to the girl at his side, had gone to hunt them down at her suggestion, hence why they now stood facing each other, as Eric shoved one of the school guitars into his hands.
"Alright! Quit stalling; we have enough time to practise one song so come on… get to it,"
Watching the other boy roll his eyes but take hold of the item anyway, Haylin felt the creeping of nerves inch up her spine, made even more so when it became clear as Uriah stared at the guitar in puzzled wonderment.
"Huh, who know that was actual guitar was this heavy."
The words sent the room into silence. Haylin turned her had to give Eric a wide eyed stare as the boy narrowed his; a look of controlled placidness on his face before slowly asking.
"What do you mean… a real guitar? If not that then what is it that you actually play?"
Uriah lifted his head to give the other boy a look. "Air, duh,"
More silence followed his answer. Haylin fully tilted her body, arm stretched to pat the motionless boy on his shoulder; she had known how much he had been looking forward to performing and at the same time tamped down the urge to say she told him so. As soon as Uriah noticed him playing and came over, she had been worried, further intensified when Eric accepted the invite to join the band. She feared he was simply a replacement for Nigel and the band was just a ruse to get him to accept, but he looked so gleeful when they left and he turned to her that she didn't have it in her heart to try dissuade him.
Only now she wished she had, the look on his face after his anger deflated was so despairing it made her want to pull a Cornelia and string him up by his pants, he had let Eric down so bad… but then again what could she expect from the school misfit.
Heaving a sigh as Eric then moved to try and salvage the situation, checking her watch a breath was sucked through her teeth; he didn't have long and as much as she thought he was talented, on lifting her head to now see the sight before her, as he stood in front of the downcast trio, but he was no miracle worker.
Back in the auditorium Taranee and Will were both discovering the same thing, but unlike Haylin who was fretting, their faces held only sly grins and barely held back sniggers as they watched Matt try his hardest to play the song.
"So this is why he hasn't been near a guitar," Taranee muttered as she held back a laugh at seeing him miss a chord. Will nodded, her eyes dancing with mirth as she witnessed his frustration quickly turning to anger at having no control over the situation, eventually after a quarter of the way in Nigel called for time out as he turned to the older boy.
"Dude, what the hell is going on?"
Breathing deeply, Matt slowly turned to him, a look of annoyance that was poorly hidden behind his eyes as he replied.
"Nothing."
The snort that came from the bass player had the concealed angels hand grip the guitar tighter before he turned back to him, his face showing the lack of belief in his answer.
"That was not nothing… that was worrying. What's wrong it's like you're not even… not even you."
Blue eyes flared in disdain just as Nigel shook his head, glancing at his watch he blew out before clapping his hands.
"Alright, let's take five and hopefully come back a lot better than this."
Nearly flinging the hated item down in his fury, they watched as Shagon stalked offstage, observe by all and two slightly worried guardians who glanced at each other nervously at seeing just how angry he looked.
"Do you think we should go make sure he's not doing anything?"
Will cast her gaze at the side door from which he had stormed out off and after carefully thinking about it, shook her head; she might have enjoyed watching him suffer but even she knew it would be foolish to try antagonize him further, not when it was about to get worse and reaffirmed her decision with another shake of her head.
"Let's just wait and see; if he does try something then we'll… have to improvise,"
Taranee nodded just as Nigel came over to them, a look of regret on his face as he proceeded to apologize for a first terrible fifteen minutes, leaving them to it Wil took the time to ring Irma who had fled the school the moment the bell rang, she had found her way to the silver dragon as neither of her parents were home yet and seeing as she was hosting the show, had to get as much energy as possible and take out was the perfect choice. The water guardian had also invited Caleb to the show seeing as it was his day off and had nothing to do.
Will ended the call as the side door opened and Matt returned. His look of anger had faded but his entire body still held stiff as he briskly strode back and not saying a word, picked up the guitar once more. Nigel from his vantage point at Taranee's side, looked on wearily as did everyone else, until the other boy looked up and with a snappish tone, shrugged as he asked.
"Well are we doing this or not?"
The auburn haired boy didn't say a word for a while, until a subtle nudge from Taranee had him shaking his head for a second before giving Matt a nod and a smile as he turned and smiled at the two seated and hopped back up onto the stage. The next few minutes was thick with tension as silently they got themselves ready again and with an uneasy glance to the others, Nigel lifted his finger and began to count them in, giving one last fearful look in Matt's direction and took a deep breath before dropping his finger.
Both Will and Taranee sat stunned as the first few bars of the music began, Matt started to sing, but unlike before when he sounded like a scratchy throated toddler and his playing skills were about as good as a spoon's, this time his skills were well above par and his voice now held a tune.
Around him the others all threw each other relived looks. Nigel stared at his friend busy concentrating on his singing with a beaming smile. It wasn't up to his usual standards but considering the alternative he'd take it any day and gave the newly improved and focused Matt and grin of approval.
Down in the seats the two girls sat confused, unable to take their eyes from the decently playing angel, Taranee leaned in slightly.
"What happened?"
That was something Will would also like to know as she stared, shocked at the rapid metamorphosis of his musical skills and slowly shook her head.
"I have absolutely no idea."
And it stayed that way until the very end. Halfway through it seemed Shagon found his groove and had started to enjoy himself, his voice picking up as one by one everyone started to feel more confident that they finally had what it took to pull of an amazing performance, as Matt titled his body to lean back against Nigel who laughed and mimicked his position as they finished the last few chords of the song. Once it over he was surrounded by the others who were crowing about how they would be winning for sure, all the while two still remained speechless at the turnabout and was left unnoticed.
"I guess this is another thing he'll be gloating about," Will muttered unhappily as Taranee hummed agreeably, watching as with one final fist bump, Matt placed the guitar back on the side and made his excuses to leave, turning around and catching Will's eyes as he did.
The pair stared at each other, amber eyes narrowing in suspicion earning a smirk from the much more cheerful angel as he lifted his hand and further increasing her ire, waved at her mockingly as he made his way to the doors, all the while two sets of eyes never left his retreating form.
"I have to go,"
Before Taranee could say anything, "Will had sprung up and grabbing her bag, took off in the direction that Shagon had gone. Taranee watched her leave, face showing her concern as the other girl vanished through the door and wondered if perhaps she should follow when the sound of her name being called had her looking over to see Nigel as he waved at her to come over; looking to him then back to the door, she sighed and knowing that she had to trust Will knew what she was doing, stood and with a smile made her way up to where he stood.
"So finally found your voice, and just in time for the concert and all?"
He was halfway across the school yard when she caught up to him; she found it odd that he was just standing there but pushed that aside, her annoyance that he had yet again fixed his flaw was just another nail in the heart for how much he was taking over Matt's life. Watching him day after day was destroying her and now more than ever did she wish to finish Nerissa as she came to a stop a few feet away from him.
Eyeing his back distrustfully, she waited for him to speak, but when it appeared that he wasn't going to, she felt furious once more at being ignored.
"It won't last you know. You might have fooled them today, but sooner or later there will be something that you cannot do that will—"
Her speech stopped mid rant, breath in her chest and eyes wide as suddenly in front of her, Shagon fell to his knees. Struck dumb by the sight she doesn't move as his head slumps forwards, unsure about what was going on as the silence around them steadily builds.
Still not knowing what was going on, Will was about to speak when she heard it; the noise was low and she was grateful for the silence as the two words spoken caused her neck to lift up so fast that it almost gave her whiplash.
"…Help… me."
Amber eyes danced wildly with confusion and shock. "What did you say?"
It took another few minutes of tense silence but again and with the same feathery tone, he managed to speak.
"Help me… please. I can't—I can't."
Before his body started to shake and without realizing it Will had taken off at a run, sliding to her knees and holding him just as he keeled over. Staring at the shaking Matt in her arms, the guardian leader didn't know what to do or think, that was until a clawing hand gripped her arm forcing her to look down to see his strained face.
"Help me,"
This time Will found her voice enough to muster words as she gazed down at him, still held tight in her grip.
"Help… help with what? I don't know—"
A shuddering rack of pain went through his body and he lowered his head until it was over, looking back up once it has passed.
"I don't want to do this anymore. I don't want to be a part of Nerissa's team any longer; the thing's she does… the things she makes us do… I just," he shook his head before turning back to her. Will thought she had never seen anyone looking wilder.
"I didn't think there would be a limit, didn't think there would be a point where—" he had to stop as the pain got too much and despite a part of her screaming that she shouldn't be helping her enemy, she also couldn't help but hold him through it as he inhaled deeply.
"Where even I would become disgusted by what she had done. But I have. The only problem is that it's not exactly a club in which you can give up your membership and just leave."
A snort left her lips as she nodded. That she had no doubt just as his grip tightened and she lowered her gaze to find his blue orbs piercing her earnestly.
"If you help get me away from Nerissa, I'll help you."
His words sparked a light in her as she held his stare. "Help me how?"
Inhaling more deep breaths he shifted slightly, wincing as he did before resuming his speech, "You want Matt back; I'll do my best to help get him for you, providing you keep me safe from that mad cow."
It seemed like a fair deal, but there was still something keeping her from fully believing him outright, there was also one other stipulation she wanted to add, as she replied.
"Cornelia."
"What about her?"
She held him through another bout of shudders before carrying on talking. "If I help you stay safe and hidden, I want your promise that you'll help in both getting Matt back, AND helping us get Cornelia as well."
The light ignited as he nodded, sealing their deal. Helping him to his feet, she held him carefully as he looked shaky and walked them both to the exit,
"So when can you get Matt? That way I can round the others and they can help—" she was stopped by the shaking of his head. Immediately her eyes narrowed on him and removing his arm from around her neck, propped him up on the gates, eyes still burning with mistrust.
"Don't look at me like that," he protested on seeing her expression. "I'm sorry, it's just hard to still fully trust you and you now refusing the others help, doesn't exactly inspire that belief any further!"
Holding up his hand, he nodded and despite his situation couldn't help the eye roll coming at her familiar rants before cutting in.
"I'm not refusing their help, but I am trying to keep them from blowing what I had in mind,"
"And just what did you have in mind?"
She crossed her arms waiting for his response, further earning another eye roll and a barely held back snort of scorn but he kept that down.
"I might want out, but the others… they're another matter; Khor is loyal to his emotions, Nemesis... well I don't really know what it is she thinks, no one really knows what goes on in that head of hers,"
His admission startled Will, who blinked owlishly at the news but he paid it no mind and carried on.
"It's Tridart that's the worry; he is completely loyal to Nerissa and sees no problem in hurting anyone that tries to stop her. He'll most likely see this as a betrayal and out of retaliation go and hurt Matt."
His words sent a chill down her spine but it still didn't stop the confusion about not including the others. As if sensing her next question, Shagon proceeded onwards.
"If you round up the others and he sees them, it'll only arouse his suspicions. If he sees me helping you then that will be it. If we want to get Matt before anyone realizes then it'll have to be us and us only."
He paused, head turning to gauge her reaction. "Can you handle that?"
That was a hard question. On one hand she wanted nothing more than to reject his offer, round up the others and insist on bringing them to find Matt, but the other half was saying that if what he was speaking of was true, then Matt was in trouble from more than just Nerissa, if Tridart got to him first then she…
Stopped at that line of thought, she would do anything to get him back and so slowly turning her head to eye the slightly put out knight, even if it meant aligning herself with an enemy with obscure motives.
"Alright; we'll work together, just me and you, no one else."
A couple of hours later, about an hour before the show was about to begin, Shagon turned to the rest of the knights he had brought with him; when he arrived at Nerissa's lair—new, since the mountain had been compromised and so the older woman had taken them and the thralled former guardians to the mountains of Arsia mons; a hostile place that held little ground not surrounded by boiling lava, of course that proved little to Nemesis, who, under the instruction of the older woman, carved a spacious chamber within the impenetrable rock and hollowed out the tough granite like it was Styrofoam, tossing the leftovers into the bubbling magma and feeding its intense flames. Naturally Tridart had questioned the move, rather logical given his entire being was threatened whenever he stepped from the portal, this led to the ice man being left alone atop of Mt Thanos, the only place he felt truly comfortable; a choice he didn't mind seeing as he preferred to meditate, hone his ice attacks or simply ignore the others until they were needed, so he stuck to the abandoned cave, only being called upon when Nerissa came for him.
But it wasn't the older woman who came that day, it was Shagon hence why he now stood above the school sports hall staring moodily in the direction of the ever increasing noise a few hundred yards below, at his side stood Khor and at the beasts other side stood Nemesis. The blonde knight had been enjoying an empty house when Shagon appeared quite suddenly and rather unwelcomely in her living room, there she had to sit and listen to him go on about he had fooled the little idiot, she had no need to guess who that 'idiot' was, however, what was more annoying was the fact that he felt the need to interrupt her quiet time just to inform her, as she inwardly sighed through his gloating. Eventually he got round to his actual point of standing in her living room grinning like a maniac, which was how she also found herself standing with the other two listening to the sounds of the steadily coming together talent show, waiting for Shagon as he vanished to go fetch their target. A small rumble saw a nose poking her shoulder forcing her to turn her head left, she eyed the firey yellow orbs, frightening in their intensity, as another nudge saw her rolling her eyes but playfully as she obliged his unspoken request and lifted her hand.
Tridart looked over at the sound of another rumble and spied the scene in disgust. "Do you think that's acceptable of a knight?"
Pausing her ministrations, both turned to look and caught sight of his disdainful expression; Khor's eyes narrowed as Nemesis, taking no notice of his disdain as usual, kept her hand atop the beasts head from where she had been stroking his ears, to reply.
"Perhaps not; but are you going to tell him that, or are you merely informing me,"
Glancing at the now bared teeth, the bestial knight glared at the ice man, contempt shining in his savage eyes; whilst he had no issue with the creature, for some reason the thing had taken an intense liking to the newest of their group, loyal to her almost enough to rival Shagon and so knew that if he tried disparaging her even more then chances were he'd find himself on the wrong end of his fists, and so merely scowled before turning back to the show and ending what little conversation there was to be had. The pair gave each other scant glances, before her hand resumed its methodical caressing of his velvety ears, causing the terrifying beast to purr with pleasure once more.
Down below on the courtyard, Caleb was eyeing the scene wearily. Though it was true that he had no plans for that evening, he was sure he could have found a better way to spend it then by surrounding himself with a growing rambunctious crowd all eager for the show to start. He had been standing with Irma who, for that last half hour, had been barking orders at the helpers and Martin who was he co-host for the show, turning from his spot on stage, he eyed the band as they dropped their equipment off as a slightly worried Nigel turned to Taranee who was next to the brunette.
"Have any of you guys seen Matt? It's just I tried calling him before and he isn't answering."
Irma shook her head, her eyes distracted by the movers as they slowly rolled the drum set across the stage,
"No, sorry… hey be careful with that!"
Her outburst caused them to jump as the bass player blinked in surprise at the tone just as a hand on his arm had him turning to see Taranee shake her head.
"It's best to leave her when she's like this. Right now is oppressor Irma, not the fun loving one we all know and ow!"
She stopped speaking, hand reaching up to rub her arm as she glared at the flat looking water guardian who was eying her shrewdly.
"Can it! I am not a tyrant."
Taranee bobbed her head for a moment until her friend looked away before turning back to Nigel,
"Because nothing say peace loving leadership like pain,"
Nigel laughed as she skipped out of the oncoming hand baring down as Caleb shook his head and looked back to the ever growing crowd. It seemed like quite the turnout, eyes scanning the large mass of people, he spotted Haylin on the right with who he was to assume, was Eric; he smiled warmly at the pair, they seemed like a good fit and so he was happy that she had finally found someone who could handle her eccentric way of daily life before turning away and refocusing his gaze to the crowd once more, noticed that he had yet to see Will.
Idly he was aware of newcomers as they stood talking to the small group—well talking wasn't something they were doing, mocking them was more like it as Taranee glared at the grumper sisters who had also taken note of Matt's absence and had come to gloat, informing them that talent scout was already waiting in the crowd. The news forced Nigel's breath to catch in his throat, much to the delight of the sisters who giggled and with a final wave, sauntered off stage to get ready, Taranee caught the look of panic on her… was he her boyfriend? Face and reached out to take his hand.
The touch forced him to look at her and saw her calm expression staring back at him. "Relax."
"Taranee, who could you say that? do you have any idea how big this is and Matt isn't here and oh man… we're gonna totally crash and—hpfmpfh!"
His rant was cut off by a pair of lips pressing on his; everyone around them looked on speechless as eventually Taranee broke the kiss and pulled back enough to see his dazed expression. A slow smile crept over her lips before she turned to a smirking Irma.
"Can you come and help me find where Matt might be?"
The smirk soon fell into a scowl. "Hey I have to be here to make sure things go smooth,"
On her other side Caleb rolled his eyes and moved forwards, his steps attracting their attention for the first time as he spoke.
"I'll go try to find him," with a meaningful glance to the brunette as Taranee thanked him and turned back to a now calmer Nigel.
"Won't be long,"
With that the pair left and made their way to the stairs at the side. "Have you seen Will?" the fire guardian turned to look at him, surprise on her face that the other girl was missing and shook her head.
"No.. not since she left the auditorium this afternoon," as her movement slowed slightly, a look of panic on her face as she looked back to him.
"You don't think her absence and Matt have anything to do with each other, do you?"
The ex-rebel leader titled his head and went to speak but his battle honed observation skills caught a flash of green light up on top of the opposite building and his face hardened as he knew only one creature that had green energy. Immediately he took off running with Taranee hurrying to catch up, unsure about the sudden urgency but knew that if he had seen something, it must be bad. On the way across she stopped to drag a blissful Haylin away from Eric, the other boy looking startled at the abrupt abduction and watched as the Chinese girl was dragged off, a smile still on her face as she called back to him and then turned before running to the other building and leaving him confused.
On top of said building, Will had barely deflected another attack as she glared murderously at the grinning angel who had proven himself a traitor. On leading her to the very top of the building, a voice in the back of her mind was screaming at her that this was a bad idea, that where he was going was no place to hold a hostage, but he had assured her he was only going there to open a fold to take them to the true location. Despite her misgivings that did seem plausible and so shoved the inner voice down and followed him. Now she truly wished she had listened to the voice as no sooner as he opened the door and they stepped through, did she spy the sight of the other knights; her heart froze and on trying to backtrack, found herself being shoved harshly forwards and closer to them, as she turned around and caught the angel as he dropped the glamour to reveal his disgusting self. Instantly her hate rose at knowing he had played her, his mocking grin and the promise to release Matt… all lies.
Well she would finish him soon, and opened her eyes only to be blasted off her feet by a beam quicker than she expected and rolled to where the others all stood, her body already feeling the ache and knew that there was much worse to come.
Having managed to get entrance to the hall, Caleb was now halfway up the mountain of steps, followed closely by Haylin who was the quickest of the group and so could keep up; a little down was Taranee who was doing her best to catch them as Haylin turned to the focused commander.
"What are we doing here?"
Without missing a step, Caleb replied. "I think Shagon's here."
Taken back slightly but never faltering, the air guardian didn't need to know anymore. If he was here than chances were so was Will who she had failed to spot down outside and so pushing herself that little more, they made quick work of the steps as sounds that were getting louder seemed to confirm his suspicions.
Bounding the last few hurdles, Caleb burst through the half closed door to find Shagon and looked to find the other knights waiting also, his eyes honed in on the blonde and swallowed the lump just as panting had Taranee finally catch them, winded from the run she leant on Haylin for a moment, but not for long as a gasp had them turning to find what it was Shagon seemed to be intent on pulverizing into oblivion.
"WILL!"
The newcomers gained the attentions of the others, as Khor snarled in response to their presence and Tridart gripped his axe menacingly, Shagon hadn't let up his attack on the slowly weakening leader who was doing her best to hold off the blasts, but they could see she was losing fast and so without another word, Haylin swiped her hand as a large gust of air knocked into Shagon.
The force broke his concentration and the green beams vanished. Will sighed heavily at finally having a reprieve, as a wall of fire erupted between them and the knights; the fire cut off behind the leader allowing her safety as Caleb ran to help her up. She smiled gratefully before looking up to see the others. The determination to end the fight once and for all in their eyes and so smiling, pulled out the heart.
"Guardian's unite!"
Growling in anger, the angel of hate lifted his head to see the leader and the two new additions all ready to fight, Caleb on the other side looking battle tense as well. He smirked when his eyes briefly darted to Nemesis and knew just who to pit her against as he nudged his head signalling for them to attack.
Quickly splitting up, each of the girls picked their targets as Taranee went straight after Tridart who was bringing his axe up to Caleb who had darted in front of him and delivered a swift kick, a blast of fire saw the ice knight double in pain allowing the commander to roll out of harm's way. A smile in her direction saw him taking off as Taranee took over.
Having already been enemies from the get go, Will stuck to Shagon who was attacking with an almost deadly intensity, his face etched with a fierce resolve to end her for good as she blocked his beams once more but was swiped as he came back around and clipped her with his wings.
With on once left, Haylin had taken Khor; the air guardian picking up speed as she raced towards the hulking beast and with a smirk, lifted her left foot, using his body as a springboard, jumped into the air. Khor watched her distractedly as she quickly flipped and lifting her leg, kicked him hard in the chin.
Pain exploded in his face he reared back, roaring in anger and pain as she then used her foot to swipe his legs from under him; the whole roof trembled as he hit the floor hard, as she slowly stood and unable to stop the chuckle escaping her lips at how easy he went down, only to gasp as the sound of powerful wings had her spinning to see the barest flash of blonde, before her body was flung back fast.
Caleb who had been loosely helping Taranee, tried his best to run and catch her as he witnessed the blonde knight slamming into the other girl and sending her shooting towards the wall; running as fast as his legs would take him, he knew it wouldn't be enough and so managed to get to her, after her body had crashed into the metal air vent. Pain ignited throughout her entire body and Haylin found herself slumping to the ground, weak and unable to hold herself up she was caught by strong hands.
Lowering himself to one knee, he used his body to prop her up, checking hr pulse and sighing in relief when he found one, a snarl had him turning to find Nemesis helping the beast to his feet, her strength making it easy to heft the towering creature upright before he turned his head and catching his gaze.
Caleb gasped as angry yellow eyes locked with his and a roar worried the royal guard who still held a fragile Haylin; it was a tense few seconds but then Taranee weaved in front of him, catching his interest and he turned his focus on her, looking away from the incapacitated duo. Caleb breathed out and silently thanked the other girl once again for saving their arses as a scream of rage had him looking to find Will throwing bolt after bolt of deadly lightening the laughing angels way as he dodged the attacks before aiming his own with faster and deadlier precision; it was then that a flash of green saw Nemesis come right behind the enraged and oblivious leader.
"WILL LOOK OUT!"
Turning downwards she only caught the frantic hand gesture and turned to face the other way, as a foot colliding with her stomach knocked her back, sending her closer to the other angel, before the deadly green energy hit her back and crying out in pain, dropped to the floor.
Eyes wide at the downed leader, Caleb lifted his head to find Shagon nodding to his partner in crime just as a desperate shout had them both turning to stare at him, as before he realized what he was doing, Caleb had yelled out. His heart torn by anger and anguish.
"CORNELIA STOP THIS…PLEASE!"
Despairing eyes caught hers, the hauntingly silver showing no emotion as they stared at each other, Shagon seeing the distraction, dropped down to a weakly moving Will who groaned in agony before gasping at the looming shadow that had covered her, and looked to see the victorious looking angel. Never in their fights had she felt anything other than complete and blinding rage for the angel, but now, now as he had put all his energy into finishing her off, for the first time in a long time, Will actually felt fear. It was a few seconds as neither one moved, their eyes having frozen in a tense stare off, then she lifted her hands fast to block to beams as it barely avoided hitting her and she fought the brave the powerful attack once more.
A scream had him turning his head to look on his horror as Taranee had been caught and was now being held tight in the clutches of Khor; the large beast gripping her tight with each move she made he squeezed harder and forcing her face to contort in pain.
They were losing badly, and even if Haylin, who was now sitting upright in his arms was able to join in the fight, he doubted there was much she could so as her wind wasn't as effective as Taranee's fire; and even if she did fight there was still the issue of probably the most dangerous knight still hovering over them.
They needed a miracle and he was seriously contemplating how long it would take for him to get Haylin down and go get Irma when a shout saw Will now staring up at the motionless Shagon. Her eyes were wide with hope and uncertainty but she heaved herself into an upright position waiting.
"Matt—it's you—you're inside Shagon, and I hear YOU."
That stunned the older boy who kept his gaze on the pair in silence, the angel had since ceased his attack and was now just standing-like stone—as he thought against something; after a tense few seconds he saw Will smile again, her eyes shining as she slowly stood and made her way over a now more unguarded looking Shagon who tilted his head to her, his face holding none of the malicious intent it did moments before.
Wondering what was going on, it seemed he wasn't the only one as a loud growl had him looking to find Khor, still with his arms tight around a weak looking Taranee and was staring at his comrade with clear confusion. Shagon turned until he was facing the other knight. Instantly Khor could tell that there was something new about his ally and leader and so growled unsure about the situation.
"Let her go, Huggles."
Will's face dropped on hearing the name as a groan could be heard as he loosened his arms and allowed the drained guardian to slip from his grasp.
"That's Huggles?" the disbelief could be heard even from Caleb's spot as she stared at the imposing beast, trying hard to imagine the once cuddly dormouse as Shagon—or was it now Matt—nodded, a smile on his face at her tone.
"Yep,"
Before turning his gaze to Tridart. The most hostile behaving after Khor, though that was down to his instincts, the ice knight was merely unfriendly for the sake of it as they caught each other's gaze.
Though both sets of eyes were blank, it was clear on the ice knight that he took Shagon's change as a betrayal, his face slowly going from gleeful to nothing and then to instant anger.
"YOU TRAITOR!"
The angel threw up his wings as the rain of icicles hit down hard. covering Will, the angel waited the attack out, grunting as the hard water sliced at his feathers before dropping them quickly before sending his own retaliation; green light filled the clearing as he directed his beams at the bitter ice man.
Tridart grunted as it made contact, the hit forcing him to drop few feet, as he eventually regained his balance enough to level another murderous glare at his once leader.
"I knew Nerissa should never have used humans as her knights. You have no sense of loyalty!" before pulling his arms and legs in a move Shagon knew quite well.
"Will get down… EVERYONE GET DOWN!"
Clueless about what was happening but following the panicking angels instruction, Caleb left a upright Haylin as he raced to grab Taranee, still weak from the stranglehold, pulling her to where the air guardian sat as he then did he best to shield them from whatever attack the enraged ice knight was planning. More beams flew towards the now rogue knave, who dodged them before unleashing his attack, as icicles and blistering clouds of limb freezing fog shot from his body; the deadly assault was growing in size as Shagon threw his arms around Will and dropped them to the floor. Caleb did the same for the other two as Khor had growled angrily and had dropped over the side of the building, holding onto the side with his arms as they waited out the round of lethal ice.
A few minutes into the attack, it was dawning on Caleb that by now, given just how little they were clothed, the intensity of the attack should have frozen them into nothing, yet he could still feel his fingers as they griped the other two tightly under his arms. On the other side Shagon was coming to the same thought and with careful hesitance, they slowly peered up to where Tridart was and was met with the most extraordinary sight.
Having been above them all and witnessed Shagon's resolve shattering, returning him once more to Matt and breaking the demon's hold, Nemesis had been silent as she hovered, watching the scene unfold and on seeing how Tridart had taken the change, caused the impassive female knight to roll her eyes at his irrational behaviour; there was a reason she hated him and seeing this display of baseless conduct was just a tying factor, watching as he folded himself in, knew he was preparing his most effective strike. It was then a feeling slightly nudged her, playing on the forefront of her mind, she allowed it to take over knowing that it wasn't anything bad.
"This is your chance,"
Contemplating its words, it spoke again, its urgency clear. "Nerissa's force is weakening. Your leader had already broken free… it is now time for you to do the same."
Seeing the others as they prepared themselves for the fallout, Shagon as he wrapped his wings around Will, to Khor who jumped to avoid being hit, lastly her eyes travelled to Caleb, who was using his body to protect the others from the blast, face full of grim determination and slight trepidation as he braced himself. Seeing him so willingly cover them and not caring for his own wellbeing struck a painful chord within her and on glancing down to the hated knight, she knew what she had to do.
Hence how both Caleb and Shagon found themselves staring up—unharmed, watching the torrents of shrapnel like ice missiles fall and bounced off the invisible shield that was stopping them from causing harm. Tridart opened his eyes when he heard no screams of pain and looked on startled as he found his sight obscured by his own ice clouds; the heavy mist surrounded him, swirling uselessly against the unseen barrier that blocked them for moving any further, his confusion at the failed attempt soon turned into ire, as he realized the only one who had the power to stop his attacks by concealed means.
The angry bellowing of her name caused Caleb's breath to hitch as the swooping of wings saw the knight in question land in front of them; her face a picture of utter amusement as she gazed up at the invisible sphere in which she used to contain the ice knight. Her presence caused the others to lift their heads as they too felt the lack of pain and Haylin let out a small gasp as she spied the large silver wings.
Nemesis gazed upon the swirling ball of mist, eyeing the invisible man inside before speaking, her voice mimicking the look of amusement as she did.
"You called."
"Release me now!"
There was a pause as everyone looked on as the blonde cocked her head slightly, a brow arching at the absurd request before shaking it, the action causing the long mane of silver hair to ruffle.
"Now why on earth would I do something as stupid as that?"
A roar of fury came from the mist at her refusal, the noise earning a laugh before she carried on. "In fact, what's to stop me from ending you right now? after all, it's not as if we've been the best of friends, and from my standing don't I always seek to destroy what it is I hate?"
Lifting her hand she began to slowly close it; the action causing the mist to shrink as the unseen force began to collapse in on itself. Around her the others could only watch speechless as she kept her focus on the knight in the middle, her eyes narrowing in cold delight as a pained bellow came from within the spherical prison.
Still keeping her hand semi clenched she used the other to siphon away the cloud, the rolling fog slowly trickling away until it left nothing but the ice knight inside, his wings having been crunched and his body almost folded completely as he was squashed down. He stared down at her and if she was any normal person then she would have been fearful of the look of sheer loathing as those around her shivered at his gaze, but not Nemesis, who merely curled her lip at his stare.
"You've been a fool since the moment Nerissa decided to spring your sorry existence from that block of ice; only grown more bothersome over time and an irksome thorn in my side for as long as we've been allies."
Her gaze flickered to where Shagon stood, now with Khor who had jumped back once he realized that no attack had come and the pair was now watching cautiously to see her next move; as far as they knew she was still as rogue as the ice knight, but a lot more dangerous, before returning her attentions to the struggling man.
"If this really is a coup, and loyalties are indeed divided… then I think I'd rather throw my lot in with these as it seems a singular knight really is a downturn for Nerissa, and to be honest the only one completely loyal, is the weakest one she had to start with."
A furious growl left his clenched teeth as he struggled to break free of his stronghold. On the over side and hearing all that she had said, hope sprung in Will's heart as she tried to take a step forwards, only to stopped as Shagon shook his head.
"What?"
"Leave this to them. They've hated each other from the moment Nerissa decided to use Cornelia as a knight and Tridart never did get over the fact she replaced Ember without proper retribution; though she was right about him being extremely loyal, she is also right about him being the weakest, even Ember could have destroyed him and so I don't think this will take her long."
He finished before turning back to the front as Will slowly followed suit and watched just as the blonde lifted herself back into the air, moving to where she held him fast; the gaze they shared was nothing less than vicious, as she leaned in closer to his fixed form.
"She truly did a pathetic job when she made you… but don't worry, I'll soon rectify that. In fact, I think there just might be a special place for you right next to that lost lump of lava you called a friend."
Never in his existence had he hated someone so much as he did the girl in front of him, using every ounce of his strength he pushed and pushed until eventually he managed to move his arms, before flinging them out as a multitude of ice shards left his hands and poured all of his raw ire into making them as sharp and as deadly as possible; only for it all to be for naught as with a flick of her wrist, the shards bounced off the undetected wall and fell to the ground, littering the others in little flecks causing him to roar in anger once more.
Casting her gaze upon the enraged knight; never had she felt such utter contempt for something so pitiable, he really was the immaculate example and proof that Nerissa didn't always get things right, eyeing his squirming form as he desperately fought against the bonds keeping him down, she felt the fast growing need to end him and so waiting until he had stretched out as far as able, cut the force holding before disappearing in a flash of green.
The sudden loss of constraints threw his balance as the ice knight stumbled slightly, he hurried to regain his stability and quickly looked around for any sign of the blonde, but found nothing. Down below and watching her release him, the others became alert.
"What is she doing?"
Will hissed to Shagon who had taken fighting stance as suddenly Tridarts' attention turned to the people on the ground, his thoughts took another turn and with a sharp grin that boded no good for anyone, especially Caleb, who swallowed nervously as white eyes travel over to where he stood.
Silence before Tridart dived, pushing both Haylin and Taranee out of harm's way the royal guard was prepared to run or try to fight as the ice knave flew ever closer; then out of nowhere another flash of green saw Nemesis reappearing above and dropping down, wrapped her arms around his body, her arm snaking under his to grip across his chest before using her other hand to grab hold of his wing and pull.
The air was ripped with the agonized yells as once again Tridart looked on to see his wing fall; the others watched the familiar scene as she then propelled herself upwards taking her prisoner and high above the school, could only look on as she began to slowly choke him.
Tridart scrabbled to remove the arm round his neck, fingers digging into her hand in a bid to cause her enough pain to let go but found that it was unmovable, Nemesis pushed down the ache and kept her arm locked around his throat, her resolve to finish him for good never wavering and used that to fuel her strength. If she had to rip him limb from limb to finally put him down that was what she was going to do, leaning in to his ear, he stilled his movement enough to hear her icy last words.
"Say hello to Ember for me,"
Before a blast of white saw them go flying in opposite directions.
Those below jumped to alert on seeing the pair hit, immediately they turned to the direction the light came from, their eyes full of surprise and fear on seeing the door to the stairwell, now a glowing portal. On the other side and having witnessed all, Nerissa was silent as she set about her final preparations; knowing that she was ready to reform the true and only group of guardians, saw the need for the knights' surplus to requirements as she readied herself to siphon their energy. Absently she knew that losing such assets was regrettable and even more so when Nemesis no longer under her control, but watching as the knights, once dedicated to bringing down Will as per Shagon's plan, now turned on themselves and all due to that insipid boy finally breaking through. She had to command his spirit but really, she had thought she disciplined them better than the spectacle she had just witnessed. But no matter, the end had come and so pointing her seal towards the fold, summed her power and concentrating, used her energy to recall the magic that had created the knights.
Another beam of white shot from the portal, this time heading for all the knights as Will fell back, the power crashing into her and sending her flying as the light encased both Shagon and Khor. Groaning but pulling herself up, she lifted her head and her heart stopped on seeing them surrounded.
"MATT!"
Fearing that he was about to be taken away again she jumped to her feet and tried to break through, but was thrown back and this time could only watch in horror. Another cry had her fleetingly looking away to find the same had happened to the others; Tridart and Nemesis both encapsulated within the white as Caleb and the others stood in just as much horror upon witnessing the sight.
"It was fun whilst it lasted… but it's time to really put that power to good use."
Before dragging the knights' energy from them; on the other side the white that had surrounded them started to flare up, completely covering their bodies as the guardians and Caleb could hear the strains of agony, the light siphoning them of their power. Will's eyes were full of tears as she could only listen to the sounds of pain coming from Shagon whilst Caleb could only watch as above him, Nemesis had doubled over, hands clutching her head as she fought the magic attacking her, before she too, vanished from sight and causing his chest to tighten rapidly.
"CORNELIA!"
Finally the light, having drained the knights of their power, grew until it forced them to cover their eyes as it washed over them, finally it died down and retreated back into the portal where unknown to them, Nerissa had used it to reanimate the former guardians, but that was for another day as right now they only cared about one thing. Will opened her eyes as soon as she was able, only to freeze at the sight in front of her.
On the ground before her, Matt was lying, his face contorted in slight discomfort and at his side Huggles, in his true form chittered happily. Groaning he pushed himself to his elbows and slowly opened his eyes only to be knocked down again as a ninety five pound winged moth jumped on him.
On the other side and once they too could see, looked back to the sky and the young guards stomach dropped as he watched Cornelia fall from the sky; without waiting he pushed himself forwards and ran with everything he had, willing his leg muscles onwards as her plummet downwards got faster and threw himself into the air, launching forwards, managed to slide his arms under her legs and back before she could reach the ground.
His leap cost him his own safe landing and grunted hard when his stomach made contact with the solid floor, winded he took a few deep even breaths, noting that he had worse but it still wasn't a pleasant feeling, though none of that mattered and realizing just what he had in his arms, rearranged his body with speed, coming to sit as he pulled the fragile looking girl further into his embrace.
"Cornelia?"
He watched her face carefully, heart beating wildly as very slowly she began to come round, face creasing like Matt's with discomfort, before he called her name again and watched as slowly her eyes opened. His breath caught once more as he stared into deep azure blue and not the disturbing silver, as she very slowly became aware of who it was that was holding her.
"…Caleb?"
He smiled gently as she blinked a few times groggily, before it must have hit her and she snapped her head back up to him.
"Caleb,"
He smiled wider and nodded as her eyes kept hold of his before they started to shine, without another word or second to waste she threw herself onto him. His hands immediately found purchase as she sat in his lap, body shaking she held him with everything she had as he reached up and stroked her hair.
He couldn't believe it, she was here, back in his arms and she was real this time, he could feel her tears on the back of his neck but he didn't care, merely kept her tight to him, afraid that something would take her away again until she pulled back and grabbed the sides of his face; eyes never leaving each other's, he drank in all that she had to offer, before he leaned forwards and their lips met in a frantic kiss that was long overdue.
Hearing her sigh into his mouth caused his hands to tighten more on her back as their lips melded together; this was what he has been missing, the feeling of being whole as her hand snaked up and gripped his hair gently, when they broke apart he could still spy the tears slipping down her cheeks and lifted his hand to gently wipe them away from her soft cheeks, caressing her face and reaffirming himself that she was real once again and back in his arms.
Back where he had left them, Haylin and Taranee watched both reunions with joy. Haylin had tears marks streaking her own cheeks as she gazed upon the blonde and her love, with Taranee watching Will's own joy at finally having Matt back once more, as each couple did their best to console each other and take comfort in the fact they were together again.
Will reluctantly moving back as Matt climbed to his feet, but was back in his arms no sooner as he stood tall, the other boy smiling and accepting the embrace before giving her a soothing kiss. She glanced under his arm and felt her heart lift with joy at seeing Cornelia with Caleb and saw the look of genuine warmth on her face, knowing deep in her heart that she had both her boyfriend and one of her best friends back almost brought her to tears again, instead she burrowed deeper into his arms; soon and joined by the other two guardians as they greeted Matt again with their own smiles, slowly moved to where the other pair was still lost in each other, as Haylin, shaking with delight, couldn't hold back and pounced upon the unsuspecting blonde.
A shriek rent the air as Caleb nearly fell back as the blonde was ripped from his arms; immediately his chest constricted once more at feeling his lap empty and the warmth gone, and nearly twisted his head to find the culprit and his breathing came easier as he saw the only danger was Haylin.
The other girl was lying upon the shocked Cornelia, arms firmly around her waist and was refusing to let go, Taranee and Will both looked at the pair before to each other; Cornelia squeaked once again as they were joined by two more as Matt helped Caleb to his feet, both boys eying the pile up fondly.
Green eyes caught blue as Cornelia stared at the love of her life and felt all that had been missing come flooding back, filling the gaping cavity in her chest and heart, closing it over and returning it's warmth once again as eventually they took pity on the squashed girl and bent to help the others to their feet. Haylin the most reluctant to leave but was soon up as Caleb then moved to help the blonde to her feet, pulling her back into his embrace once she was.
Ever the logical one, it wasn't long before Taranee spoke, asking the question that was subconsciously on all their minds.
"What happened?"
To that no one had a clue, turning to where the portal had been her eyes narrowed thoughtfully, trying to put together a conclusion that would fit; seconds later and Haylin shook her head, wanting the last hour to be over with as soon as possible.
"Oh who cares, the best thing is we have you both back!" a small furry nudge had her looking to find Huggle's had jumped on her back, no doubt attracted to her energy as she smiled and stroked his little head.
"And you to Mr. Huggles."
With that the consensus of the group was to leave the roof, with them all turning and making their way to the door Will had found her way once more under Matt's arm as Caleb did the same with the blonde, keeping a hold of one of her hands as they moved, leaving the fight and the past chapter of the knights to be finally closed. Halfway down it was Haylin who alerted them to the predicament that they had left behind and it wasn't Irma having taken over the school with them not there to stop her.
"What time is Wreck 55 meant to be playing?"
Coming to a standstill Matt's face dropped as he recalled his other half promising to be on time but pushed it aside in favour of working on his plan to get rid of Will, everyone turned to the guitarist who had gone deathly still, before a loud groan cut the silence.
"Oh man! Nigel is going to KILL ME!"
With that he grabbed hold of Will's hand and nearly jumped down the steps. Watching them go Taranee and Haylin glanced to each other, with the air wielder giving her a shrug and happily chasing after them, seeing her run Taranee let out a groan of her own before looking down unhappily as they had already cleared three flights.
"Did I ever tell anyone that I hate running?"
A deep chuckle, accompanied by a lighter one saw Cornelia dryly reply from her spot behind the fire girl.
"Amongst other things Taranee,"
Not deigning to reply, the athletic shy girl took a deep breath before she too started jogging in a vain effort to at least catch up to them sooner, knowing there was no chance of her actually doing so at that moment leaving the other two alone.
Cornelia turned to find Caleb already staring at her, his jade orbs already filled with the adoration and love she felt and in return had for him, as she very gently reached out and cupping his cheek, leaned in as their lips met once more; he moaned unhappily when she pulled back, earning another laugh, something he had long since missed as she rubbed her thumb across his cheek, eyes sparkling with mirth and affection.
"Race you."
With that she took off, despite knowing that she was in front of him, he couldn't help but feel the anxiety rise when she slid from his grasp, but the giggles that floated up to him saw the panic decrease slightly, and with the knowledge she would be there at the end, allowed himself to smile before shooting off after her.
He caught up to her at the end, she had been waiting for him and jumping the last few steps came a stop in front of her, she smiled again and leaned up to kiss him before demanding his coat. The odd request had him confused but on pulling back, soon knew what she meant.
She was still in guardian form, it seemed Will recalling the powers back to the heart still hadn't returned her to normal as he shrugged out of his coat and wrapped it around her; the item fitting along her slender shoulders snugly and thanks to her extra jump in height, didn't trail on the floor as she turned and thanked him, before taking his hand and pulling him from the hall for good and letting the door slam shut behind them.
Back across the ground and to the full capacity crowd, the three had managed to make their way back to the front but only by Irma's will as she spied the trio and descended upon them in a flurry of dictator rage, it wasn't until Will had told her everything about what happened did the brunette fall quiet as she heard about the seemingly disbandment of the knights.
"So they're gone?"
They could hear the doubt in her tone and turned her to face Matt who had re-joined the others, and after getting a tongue lashing from Nigel, smiled and laughed with them as the water guardian observed him. From where she stood it seemed he was the old Matt, but they had been fooled before by the angel of hate, and on voicing that thought turned around when the sound of the familiar, almost honeyed voice cut through the din.
"Well given your brain span Irma, it's easy to see why it doesn't take much to fool you,"
They all turned to find Cornelia had arrived at last, Caleb a step behind her as he stood as close to the blonde as possible, arms touching as they eyed the coat she wore.
"Is this a new trend," Will asked, gesturing to the trench coat. "Rebel chic,"
The others giggled as the blonde sent the other girl a mocking glare before pulling the long coat open slightly to reveal the attire underneath.
"No.. it's called, 'Making sure no one sees my guardian outfit'… chic,"
Upon seeing the uniform she still donned, brought back the fact that the Auramere was still sitting pretty and dampening the mood slightly, as they reflected on just why Nerissa stole her away in the first place. The quietness was broken however when Irma spoke back up, her eyes focused on the blonde distrustfully.
"How do we really know they've gone for good. I mean, you've insulted me before as Nemesis and looked exactly like our friend… how can we really tell."
"Trust me, they've gone," Taranee spoke up, adding validation to what they saw and slightly annoyed that she refused to believe them, even though all three where there to see it happen.
She was shut down with a wave of her hand, as Irma turned back to a slightly amused looking Cornelia, eyes still narrowed as they fell quiet again; a few tense minutes passed before she spoke back up.
"Alright, say that it's true and the have gone,…there is only one way to prove it,"
Fighting the urge to roll her eyes, the older girl waited for the test as Irma kept quiet. A few seconds later and her patience, limited as it was, shortened.
"Well what is it!"
"In a minute, Corny,"
"I have told you a million times, don't call me Corny," only to stop her burgeoning rant at seeing the look of dumb shock on the brunettes face.
"Oh what now?"
"My god it's true… you're really back." the hushed whisper startled the others, as for as long as they have known her, Irma was never quiet and so looked on as she stared at the blonde, who was growing increasingly freaked out.
"Ok can we swap places; because I'm not putting up with this and Irma what the hell are you doing!?"
For the second time that evening, Cornelia found herself speechless, only this time it was more profound as she stared down, eyes wide with panic at the attachment around her waist as Irma had thrown herself at the older girl and wrapped her in a hug.
The rest could only look on, mouths dropped at the scene, once in a Hayley's comet lifetime, as Will desperately scrambled inside her pockets.
"For the love of god, does somebody have their phone… picture's people… pictures!"
Before hissing in disappointment as both Irma and Cornelia turned their heads, expressions bearing simultaneous glares and not wanting to get caught embarrassed, both girls quickly sprung apart.
"…It's great that you're back, Corny,"
This time the older girl growled and on turning to give the brunette a piece of her mind, was cut off when Martin's amplified voice cut off her protests. Irma's eyes widened and she took off running for the stage, how had she left him unattended was a foolish move and the others watched in amusement as she all but leapt up and dragged him down as he tried to talk about the magnificence of the radio station that had sponsored the show.
At long last and having managed to wrestle the microphone from him, Irma announced it was time for the final band, taking a dig at the Grumper sisters who stood glaring at the sides that they had saved the best for last, as everyone cheered when Nigel and Matt made their way to the middle.
Will watched Matt's every move carefully, a part of her still unable to believe he was back, but he was, and when they had finished he was coming back to her, as the first note of the song started and her heart once more jumped as she recognized the song.
Having been persuaded to give up on her rant, Cornelia sighed but obliged, turning towards the stage and casting dirty glares in Irma's direction. The scene watched by Caleb caused him endless joy as some things really didn't change, before she slid his arms around her waist and delighted in how she relaxed instantly into his embrace. Resting his head on her shoulder, her back pressed against his chest as they listened to the music; it wasn't long before Cornelia heard the meaning of the lyrics and smiled lightly, earning his attentions.
"What?"
Tilting her head slightly so her mouth was next to his ear, she whispered. "Would you write a song for me?"
Her breath caused goosebumps to sweep over his body, surpassing the urge to shiver he leant in and nuzzling her neck, breathed in the scent of vanilla and closed his eyes for a moment, brain processing her question before lifting his head to look back at her.
"I'm not very good at song-writing," he admitted, head still close to her neck this time giving her chills, "But if that is what you want, I would waste every word in the dictionary trying."
His answer seemed to satisfy the blonde, as she returned his reply with a fleeting kiss and a shake of her head.
"There is no need; just knowing you would is more than enough," before reaching up and rubbing the side of his face lovingly. He smiled and pressed a kiss to her hand as the crowds around them cheered wilder when the music came to a stop and the band waved back, elated at the response their music received, all the while the two were lost, happier to be in each other's arms then taking note of what was around them, as for the first time since the fateful day in Meridian's gardens… she felt complete.
She felt loved
She felt whole
And she felt like nothing could spoil what had been returned to her; of course at the back of her mind there was the voice telling her that the enemy had not yet been dealt with, not yet been put to ground and that nothing was safe until she had, Cornelia knew this, after having nothing but the voice for so long she had grown to trust it as much as she trusted the others in the group, so taking the voices advice, she kept the troubling news at a distance. She didn't want to be burdened with negativity, not when she was free and back with those she loved and so keeping that in mind, turned back to cheer Matt and the others along with the rest of the girls who had known who the clear winner of the night was.
None of them knowing that Nerissa's final step of phase one was complete, much faster than they would have anticipated. Now she was onto step two.
Annihilating the interlopers and taking back her heart, and with the old guardians restored and two hearts at her disposal, she had more than enough to wipe their pieces from the board.