Disclaimer: I do not own W.I.T.C.H. This is a work of fan fiction.

Season Three Episode Seven: "They Call Me MISTER Tubbs" Chapter Four

Will landed next to Irma and laid Martin beside her. Hay Lin and Miranda rushed over to them. "Are they okay?" both girls asked at the same time.

Will answered, "They'll need to go to the hospital, make sure they're not concussed. But I think they're just unconscious." She looked at Miranda. "Elyon says don't worry, this is exactly the kind of thing they left that exemption in your probation rules for. You're not in any trouble. Point in fact, that was some good fast thinking."

"Thanks. So what do we do now? The big guy's gone through the fold, but his soldiers are still here."

Hay Lin said, "The soldiers are all knocked out, but they're tough, they'll be back on their feet in no time. Actually, I hear some of them waking up already."

Varthan. Garix fell through the fold and crashed in an undignified position. Looked up to see he wasn't alone. "Note to self," he thought, "Kill all the witnesses to this. Well, except for Aljax, Mother would punish me for harming him." He rose, dusted himself off, and rushed back through the still open fold.

Aljax saw Garix's embarrassing return. Noted that his Prince was empty-handed. Realized immediately what must have happened, and what it implied. Before he could prevent it, Garix returned to earth. Aljax ran for the fold, hoping he wasn't too late…

With a terrible suddenness, Garix reappeared through the fold to Varthan. He stretched his arms high and unleashed a roar so fearful and loud that it even penetrated the glamour zone and was heard outside. Inside, it was not just heard but felt. Will, Hay Lin, and Miranda stood firm between the Prince and his quarry.

Garix called out, "Soldiers, to my aid!" A few joined him, but the rest still hadn't woken up. "We will swat away these insignificant fools and take our prize!" The soldiers cheered.

The battle lines were drawn.

Above the war zone, Matt floated, maintaining the illusion of normal disasters. He wished he could know what was going on outside, but the glamour worked both ways. He called Caleb. "I can't see what's going on outside. Are we still good?"

"Not for long." Caleb answered. "Making different people see and hear different things was smart. It's created confusion that's holding off the authorities. They would've already rushed in if they had a consensus on what's going on. The police and fire rescue are already here though, and confusion's not keeping them at bay much longer."

"Understood." Matt hung up. "C'mon girls, let's wrap this up quick."

Just before Garix could charge, Aljax leapt through the fold. He was screaming loudly, "Stop! Prince Garix stop! You'll kill us all!"

Garix turned, shocked. "What is it Aljax? I'm about to capture my quarry."

"No my Prince! It's too late. You had him before, didn't you? And the Guardians pulled him away from you?"

"Irrelevant. His being pulled from my grasp is not enough to qualify the capture attempt as a failure."

"Not on its own, my Prince. But after you lost him, you fell through the fold without him. You left him on earth and returned to Varthan. That almost certainly is enough to qualify as a failure."

Garix burned with rage. Aljax was of course correct. He had failed, and this little twig of a human had nearly gotten him killed by higher powers as well. Martin was now off limits. And so were the Guardians until his mother said otherwise. There was nothing more to do here. "Retreat!" he shouted, and his men returned home, the recovered carrying the unconscious.

When only Garix remained, he turned to the Guardians. "This day is yours. Revel in it, for you have so few of them left. When my mother is ready, we will have a reckoning." He turned and passed through the fold, which closed behind him.

Kandrakar. The counsel had observed the battle from start to finish. Luba said, "This grows more dangerous by the hour. Whatever Queen Neera is after, she is growing reckless in her pursuit of it. Sending one as impetuous as Prince Garix on a mission of this type was foolishness of the highest order."

"Indeed." the Oracle agreed. "I find myself also wondering about the information bought to us by Queen Elyon: that Neera tried to obtain scans of the Aura Mirrors."

Halinoor asked, "Is there really any great mystery there? She must have been after some exploitable weakness."

"That she could never exploit, since neither she nor any working under her command could ever come here in order to carry out the exploit? No. Her goals are something other…"

Matt and the Guardians returned to normal, and Matt dropped the glamour spell. They gathered around Irma and Martin. Irma soon came to, and had to be calmed down when she saw Martin injured. "He'll be okay Irma, he's just knocked out like you were."

"Are you sure? He needs a doctor!"

"Medics will be here soon. They're already coming in the building." Matt said.

Irma held her head. "What happened? The last thing I remember, before I hit the wall, I was sure Garix would get Martin."

"He did." Elyon said. "Miranda stopped him."

Irma grabbed Miranda and squeezed hard. "Can't… breathe…." the girl gasped.

Varthan. Garix bowed before his mother. "I am sorry mother. I failed you. Martin Tubbs is now safe from our forces. I accept whatever punishment you see fit. My life and death are in your hands."

Neera chuckled softly. "Fear not my son. You didn't fail, at least not entirely."

"But… I thought we needed the Guardians to come here."

"Aljax, tell him."

"Of course my Queen." Aljax said. "Prince Garix, did you notice a new attachment on the soldier's weapons? It is a portable form of the scanners in the palace. Weaker, of course. And with a shorter range. If you had gotten Martin Tubbs here, the palace scanners would have obtained more data than these could. But your mission was not a waste. Total data acquisition is now at sixty-one percent."

Neera smiled. "Excellent…"