Okay now chapter 17 gets back to Irma and Cornelia, but the others won't be in the dark for long. They all get back together, in a weird circumstance, but it's together all the same at the end of the chapter.
Chapter 17: Love Lives Forever
Irma's POV
"Cornelia! Cornelia wait! Can you stop for one little second and get a grip on yourself!" Irma yelled as her legs started to slow down from exhaustion. Cornelia looked back at Irma falling farther behind her.
"I never told you to follow me!" She said, pulling to a stop.
"You didn't have to." Irma breathed heavily as she finally caught up to her friend and put her hands on her knees. "When you took off running like that... it's what any friend would do."
Cornelia stared at her and then huffed. She turned her back on Irma and stomped away with her arms folded across her chest. Oh no you didn't! I can play this game too, Irma thought angrily. With her hands clutched into fists, she marched forward towards Cornelia with steam coming out of her head. She grabbed Cornelia on the shoulder and spun her around.
"Irma!"
"What is your problem Cornelia? You have been a jerk ever since we got back from Meridian, slamming doors in our faces and refusing to speak with us! I don't even know if you deserve to be our friend!" Irma yelled in her face. Cornelia seemed taken aback at first and then showed her rage too.
"I'm going through a rough time and all you do is make things worse, Irma!" she screamed.
"There's no excuse for treating your friends like dirt! No excuse, Corny!" shouted Irma
"Don't call me Corny!" Cornelia's face was reddening. "I don't need to deal with this. See, that's why I'm better off on my own!" Cornelia started walking away with fury. Irma just yelled at her from where she was standing.
"Well go ahead and leave then! It's a habit by now isn't it? Turning your back on your friends." Irma's temper was really starting to get the better of her.
"Irma, shut up! Now you made me forget which street we're on! It looks familiar though." She squinted up at the street signs and then shook her head and walked on. "I haven't forgotten that you stopped me from protecting Caleb when he got little pecks off his petals. Oh, I hate Will for giving me that stupid cat!" She took a left and walked on with Irma following behind her.
"You don't hate Will. You don't hate any of us but you sure treat us like you do. If it wasn't for Caleb-"
"SHUT UP!" Cornelia screamed turning around to face Irma. "I've HAD IT with all of you talking about him like, trying to cheer me up, ooh! I've had enough Irma!"
"Well what about us too! Will's mom is dead and then she left us, and our powers have been taken away by some evil look alikes, but you don't know anything that has happened because all you have seemed to care about is yourself! Or Caleb actually."
Cornelia's eyes opened wide and her mouth dropped open.
"What do you mean Will's mom is dead?"
"I mean that she lost too much blood after falling on a pillar after seeing us in Guardian form at magic practice."
"What! How could that have happened? Will's left the Guardians? Irma, how can our powers be gone?" Cornelia yelled hoarsely.
Irma paused and took the moment to cool down and blow off her steam. When Cornelia was looking at her with anger and confusion, Irma decided that she'd better tell her or she'd blow her head.
"Will left us partly because her mother died. I guess with you gone, our powers gone, her mother gone, and an evil version of herself haunting her, it's a wonder why she hadn't cracked before now."
"Okay now you're making it sound like it's my fault!" Cornelia yelled.
"That's because it just might be part of your fault!" Irma snapped back.
"Irma! WHAT HAPPENED TO OUR POWERS!" Cornelia's face was really red now. Her knuckles were white with fury, but Irma thought she saw something else in her eyes. Was it fear...
Irma didn't answer right away. Something didn't feel right. She sniffed and coughed and then looked up into the sky.
"Hey Corny, look at all that smoke." Irma started walking away but Cornelia followed her with frustration.
"I'm not falling for that mess. You can't get out of telling me. How are our powers-" she stopped as she turned the corner and bumped into Irma who had her mouth dropped open and her eyes opened wide.
"What the-" she stopped too as she turned to look where Irma was looking. Cornelia gasped with her eyes open in fear.
"No! Not Hay Lin... it can't be!" Irma whispered choking every time she tried to speak.
The Silver Dragon, and Hay Lin's home was burning. The first half of it was burning and turning black and some of it was crumbling to the ground. It was then that Irma saw a man creeping away.
"Hey! HEY! Get back here lizard face!" Irma started off in a full sprint with Cornelia following up behind her. Cedric turned around and smiled.
"So, here for the party?" he said slyly.
"Oh, you bet! And it's gonna be a real party kicking your big scaly butt after what you've done to Hay Lin!" Irma yelled. She aimed a punch at his face, but he grabbed her fist and threw her back.
"Oh, Irma. Why don't you use your water power to wash away the fire? Unless just about all your power is stripped by now. The Evil Guardians are even more powerful, which means that you'll stay weak." Cedric snickered.
"Grrr!" Irma got up off the ground. She was about to head for him again when Cornelia's hand shot out to block her.
"What are you trying to do? Why Hay Lin's house?" Asked Cornelia, her voice full of authority. Cedric stared at her before answering.
"It's just a promise I made to your old friend." he said staring pointedly at Cornelia. "And you see, I always keep my promises."
"Yeah right you big lying, no good-" Irma stopped suddenly went Cornelia gasped and turned green. Irma turned after her when she broke off running in the direction of her house.
"No wait, Cornelia! It's too far!" Irma yelled after her. Cornelia decided not to listen as she kept running. Irma turned back to where Cedric was standing, but he had gone. Irma sighed and turned to look at Cornelia sinking away in the distance. Angry that Cedric had gotten away, and not wanting to follow Cornelia as she knew what must have happened, she decided that she had no choice. She started running towards what she was sure would be a disaster!
"After this is over, I might be in fit shape." Irma breathed as she ran hard to try to catch up with Cornelia. "Next time though that we try running all over the city in the middle of the night, I'm taking the bus."
Cornelia's building was in clear view now. The sky was turning lighter as the sun was about to rise in the early morning. Irma was very surprised that she wasn't tired, especially after running around all day. Everything seems a little weird, Irma thought. Why is all this bad stuff happening to us?
Irma knew that her face was pink from the wind and running as she got up to the apartment and opened the door without knocking. She knew Cornelia wouldn't mind. Actually, she thought that Cornelia would have a raging fit after she saw Irma again, if what Irma thought happened was true. She started up the stairs slowly and cautiously on tiptoes. When she was in front of Cornelia's door, she took a deep breath, preparing for the worst, and gently pushed open the door.
Irma looked around. The entire room was a mess. Things were knocked over, the curtains were slashed, clothes, books, and papers that looked like homework were scattered everywhere. There was a jolt in her stomach when she noticed another mess on the floor. Cornelia was sitting on her knees holding some lifeless petals in her hand. The rest were on the floor around her. Caleb had been ripped apart.
Irma walked in shaking, not sure what to say. This was Taranee's element. She could help Cornelia pull through this and Hay Lin could cheer her up. Why did it have to be her who followed Cornelia? She's the one who always argued with her.
"Cornelia." Irma whispered and went and put a hand on her shoulder. Cornelia wasn't crying. She was in shock, she seemed kind of like a zombie who had died and come back to life. I just hope that she doesn't chase after me, Irma thought. Help! Somebody get me out of this horror movie!
"After…all I did. It wasn't enough." Cornelia whispered. "How? Why? No he can't leave me!" Cornelia's eyes started spilling out tears. Irma knew that she shouldn't interrupt. The sun was fully rising now. The sky was getting lighter as Cornelia spilled out her heart in tears.
"He's gone! I can't believe he's gone! No Caleb. Please! I can't…" she fell down and started sobbing. Everything was quiet besides Cornelia's loud sobs. It was an eerie feeling and Irma didn't like it. A lot of people say that you should leave someone alone when they're crying, but others say that you should stay by your friend. What to do, what to do…
Irma bent down next to Cornelia and spoke softly.
"I'm so sorry, Cornelia." Cornelia wiped her eyes furiously.
"No you're not! You've never understood! You're only feeling sorry for me now, seeing me crying after you were just yelling at me for this! You think that I wasted my time."
Taken aback, if Irma was the way she was feeling earlier, she would have yelled right back at her. But Irma felt miserable for how she had been acting. Cornelia needed her. She needed a friend even if she didn't want one, especially not Irma.
"No." Irma whispered. "I feel sorry for you because you have to deal with this. Nobody should have to go through this, but we still do. Will lost her mom, you've lost Caleb. We need to be together more instead of falling apart from losses and failures. That's what all best friends do."
"Well how do you know if we're real best friends? Maybe we just stuck together because we were facing danger!"
"You don't really believe that, do you? We were all friends before we became Guardians."
"How do you know it would have lasted as long as it did even if we weren't Guardians? Why is this all happening to me!" Cornelia stopped talking and started crying again. Irma wanted to tell her that it wasn't only her, but it wasn't the right time. Instead, she went and did something she didn't even believe after it was over. She walked over and pulled her into a hug.
"Cornelia, you need to pull through this. Everything's confusing us right now too but we need to try and figure everything out." She looked up at Cornelia. "Caleb will always be with you. You won't forget him and he won't forget you. Death won't stop anything. It can't stop all the things you've done or the love that you shared. Love lives forever, Cornelia."
Cornelia sniffed and walked out of her room and down the stairs. Irma let her go and was sitting there in disbelief.
"Wow! Did all of that come out of my mouth? I guess I can be really sympathetic if I want to be." Irma said pulling a hand through her hair. She looked down at the petals on the floor and her heart lurched again. If Cornelia wasn't speaking to them when Caleb got turned into a flower, what was going to happen now that he was dead?
Irma sighed and walked down the stairs. Cornelia was rolled up on the couch and looked like she was sleeping. She decided to leave her alone in case she decided to take everything out on Irma. She was heading for the kitchen when there was a hustled knock on the front door. Maybe it's Hay Lin and Taranee back with Will, Irma thought as she went to open the door.
"Hold on, I'm coming. You!" Irma just opened the door and saw Agents Medina and McTiennan standing there and couldn't help but to be surprised. "What are you doing here?"
"We have come to get Irma Lair and Cornelia Hale who are now under arrest for assisting in the murder of Will Vandom." Agent McTiennan said dully taking a hold of Irma's arm.
"What! Let go of me! We didn't kill anyone!" Irma yelled as she struggled to get out of his reach.
"No but you helped." He said. "Get the other one. Now come quietly girls or there will be trouble." Agent Medina walked over to Cornelia and shook her. Cornelia opened her eyes abruptly and stared from Medina standing over her to McTiennan holding Irma.
"What's going on?" Medina replied dully also.
"You are under arrest. Now come with us quietly or there will be trouble. You are going to be with your partners in crime, Taranee and Hay Lin." Medina grabbed Cornelia too, but she was in no mood to struggle and was just led away. Irma wasn't putting up with this though.
"Get your hands off of me! I'm not coming quietly! We didn't do anything wrong! What do you mean Will is dead?" Irma shouted as they pushed the girls into the car and slammed the doors shut before getting into the front seats and starting the car.
"I consider this kidnapping without a trial. Our friend is not dead and we didn't help kill anyone, nor did Hay Lin and Taranee! We're just kids!"
The agents ignored all her talking while they drove. Irma was sure that something funny was going on. There was something wrong with the agents and the situation. Why would anyone think that they had killed anyone?
Cornelia was still quiet and didn't look anywhere but the window even after all Irma's attempts to talk to her. Irma tried anyway.
"Corny, remember that love lives forever. You've got to get out of your funk and help me figure out what's going on!"
They drove on with silence after Irma had talked herself hoarse. They pulled up to a stop at a jail and the agents pulled them out of the car.
"You can't put us in jail, the pokey, the slammer, the joint, the big house, whatever everyone calls it. We're teenagers!"
"That's why you're going to a camp tomorrow where you girls will spend a lot of time thinking of what you've done. A very long time."
They got inside and were soon led to a cell where Taranee and Hay Lin were sitting on beds looking very gloomy. They opened the bars and pushed them in and locked it behind them. There was a few moments of silence.
"Cornelia, Irma. We knew they'd get you soon." Hay Lin said sadly and looked up at the tiny window near the roof of their cell that was pouring out sunlight.
"What's happening? How is Will dead?" Irma said frantically.
"Will's not dead." Taranee said swinging her legs down off the bed and dangled them with anger. "We were framed for what they think was her murder. What's wrong with Cornelia?" Irma looked back at Corny who had sat on a bed wither head down.
"Caleb's dead." Irma said quietly.
"What!" Hay Lin yelped leaning down to look at Cornelia who was sitting on her lower bunk. "Boy we're not having a good day!"
"I can't believe that my own mother sent me to jail." Whispered Taranee with her head down.
"Don't be stupid! It wasn't really her." Hay Lin said.
"Don't call me stupid!"
Irma gasped and looked at the two of them. Her and Cornelia was understandable, but Hay Lin and Taranee?
"Stop you guys. Why are you arguing?" Irma questioned looking puzzled.
"Oh Irma you're always arguing with someone so give me a break!" said Hay Lin annoyingly.
"So! I'm trying to bring peace for once!"
"That's a laugh. I thought that that was my job." Taranee said.
"Well you don't seem to be doing it too well right now." Irma spat.
"I've had enough of you guys already. I'm going to sleep." Hay Lin said, turning over in her bed.
"You started it!"
"Please! Be quiet! I just lost Caleb and all you guys are doing is arguing!" Cornelia yelled.
"Well, you didn't seem to be too nice to us after you lost Caleb the first time." Irma snapped, which she realized she had said the wrong thing a little too late.
"Grrr! I'm sick of this! I'm not a Guardian anymore! I'm not a friend anymore! I'm all alone on everything I do! Can someone please, GET ME OUT OF THIS CELL!"
"Wow Cornelia. Only the entire police station heard you. Are you sure you don't want to shout about being Guardians to the world?" Taranee said smugly.
"Sure. Why not! I don't care anymore. I'll get a loudspeaker and tell everyone that you guys are magical freaks, and no good friends!"
"Who are you calling a freak!" Hay Lin yelled turning back over. "In case you haven't noticed, you have magic too!"
"Well not anymore! Does anybody have any doubts of why we don't have our powers anymore!" Irma spoke loudly.
Everyone was silent. It was a silence when everything you just said seems to hang over your head and whisper in your brain. Everyone was angry. Nobody wanted to talk.
"What happened to Will?" Irma asked suddenly.
"I don't know! She disappeared." Hay Lin told her waving her hand behind her.
"Wait a second Will!" Cornelia yelled jumping up.
"What are you talking about?" Taranee asked.
"Will." Cornelia repeated, pointing to the window. And sure enough, a very bedraggled and tired Will was smiling shyly at them from the sunlit window.
Okay, uh, when I said at the beginning that they get back together, did I mention that they would fight and were only together in a cell? I guess not. It was horrible for me to write the arguing part, but I think I actually pulled it off.I don't know, I'm usually not good at that stuff. Next chapter, the girls actually start talking, hold the arguments, about everything that's going on. They also find out about a mysterious past Guardian… I'm splitting my writing time between this story and 'Through Different Worlds' now, but that doesn't mean that I will be writing less often. Okay, this was definitely a long chapter, after all that writing, I would really like reviews!