Chapter Eighteen

By: Sokai

Disclaimer: I, Sokai, do not claim ownership to the workings of W.I.T.C.H. -- I leave that honor up to Elisabetta Gnone. However, I can and DO claim to own this story and its inspired ideas FROM said series, as well as the original character, Sitara Vandom/Amandella Ember.

Note: Dammit! The stupid computer completely ate this episode and the new stuff I'd added to it! Good thing I'd written most of it by hand. Oh freaking well. Anyway! Has anyone seen that great movie, "Twin Sisters"? Just saw it the other day on Friday, and I absolutely fell in love. It was GREAT (plus, I'm a sucker for foreign films anyhow automatically), and SO sad and epic and captivating. I HAVE to read the novel it's based upon, for sure. Anyhow, my point to bringing it up is that I found it greatly ironic as well, because it reminded me so much of Will and Sitara almost. :Sniffles: But, yeah. LoL

Warning: This chapter is very graphic and heart wrenching, so if you cannot handle such readings or wish to skip this chapter, I suggest you do so . . . And, of course, there is once again a bit of mild cursing.

This chapter was written/created in April 2006.

"S . . . Sitara, please . . . let . . . let Will go. Just take your rage out on me . . . I'm the one you think sold you out -- not her . . ."

"Oh, please! I'm doing you a favor by not instantly killing you with just a mere thought, thanks to my Projection ability -- yet another power I have and had long before my Empathetic powers, in case you wanted to keep track . . .

That's how you suddenly found yourselves bound and trapped within your own elemental power -- and I thought we were 'close:' you couldn't even tell me that you had powers . . . tsk tsk . . ."

Wilhelmina awoke lying on her stomach and out of her Guardian form (which made her naturally assume that so too were the other girls), how ever many minutes to hours later, it was presumed, to groggily tune in to what sounded like a heated conversation between an uninterested Sitara and a very weak Cornelia.

Suddenly racked with a wave of pain, Wilhelmina struggled to move her sore, stiff body and become erect; however, she found it quite difficult as she barely had enough energy left as it was.
Seeing her faint movement, Cornelia turned her weakening attention to the other red head as she suddenly called out,

"Will! You're still alive! Go! It's too late for the rest of us! Save yourself!"

Too late? Save herself? What was Cornelia going on about? Unless . . .

Slowly rocking her debilitated body back and forth, Wilhelmina had at last managed to roll over onto her other side to see what the commotion was about . . . and she instantly regretted having done so.

There, several feet before her was Cornelia's body, completely buried within the moist ground with only her dirt covered head emerging from it. She (and even Sitara, mysteriously, who was hovering directly above Cornelia and leering down upon her with resentful eyes) looked extremely ragged, fatigued and pale, as at last her already weakened strength within was finally giving way -- now that she was literally trapped within the element that was once her companion and had become her mortal enemy and inevitable executioner.

However, despite this, it wasn't Cornelia's state that currently made Wilhelmina feel increasingly revolted . . . it was the condition of the three other women present . . .

To her immediate left was an unconscious Irma (although in her heart, Wilhelmina knew it was much more than that . . .), eerily floating and trapped within a column of water, encasing and drowning her in the process. Her limp, slender body and naturally pouty lips now matched the same color of the water as well as her blue oriented clothes, as they and her hair floated up and around as though within a swimming tank.

If that tragic sight hadn't been enough to make Wilhelmina wish to either remain unconscious, herself, or completely gouge out her eyes to erase the image away, what she then saw to her right was even more horrific.

Perhaps she'd still been too dazed and disoriented to have paid much attention to the sound of howling, violent winds piercing her right eardrum, however she not only now heard it, but also got a full view.

A vicious cyclone surrounded the gaunt and already fragile body of Hay Lin. Wilhelmina began to violently gag as she took in the sight of the once energetic and bubbly girl's flesh and clothes being literally ripped to shreds by the furious winds that had enveloped her stick figure like body.

It was a miracle that she hadn't yet been torn to pieces by the force, tiny and defenseless body continued to flail sickly around like some rag doll; however, Wilhelmina had a graphic feeling that it'd probably be just a matter of time before it would.

Although both hideous sights had truly turned Wilhelmina's stomach to absolute mush and only a few seconds away from being physically ill, it was the final scene that had at last pushed her over the edge . . .

Slightly behind Cornelia's entombed body was Taranee . . . her old best friend . . . Her first true friend she'd made when she'd moved to Heatherfield . . . The one who'd helped her through so many hardships in the past and stood by her . . . And now, when it truly seemed that she could've really needed Wilhelmina's help the most, it was too late . . .

Within a ring of fire did Taranee's incapacitated body lie, and although the ring of fire was relatively broad, the concentrated heat and flames had apparently already taken its toll upon the strong willed girl, as even at the distance Wilhelmina could horrifically see the dark skinned beauty's flesh frightfully melting away bit by bit.

It was all Wilhelmina could take as she at last began to vomit generously upon the ground before her, stinging tears forming and graciously trickling down her dirt stained and contused face. She silently thanked the Heavens that her three fallen comrades were at least finally at peace, and could no longer feel the excruciating pain their newly elemental fiends had briefly (or so she hoped) provided them . . .

As though reading her thoughts, Sitara suddenly and weakly cackled noticeably, the dark aura surrounding her seeming to have diminished slightly somehow.

". . . Your fire gal pal was pretty stubborn, because she could have simply burned up in an instant if she wanted . . . but, nope -- incredibly, she'd managed to hold on for a while somehow . . .

Not at all like the other chicks, who went within seconds of being trapped -- I guess all the battering they'd taken earlier had taken a toll on them . . . I wonder how long the two of you will last," she murmured in a hallowed tone, despite the obvious mockery of her words, gazing from one deceased body to the next.

Wilhelmina barely heard a word of the diabolical young woman's ostensibly shameless gloating of her dastardly deeds, as only the hard thumping of her increasingly fast beating heart echoed loudly within her ears.

First her family had been taken away, and now her friends . . . all because she wasn't strong enough to protect them . . .

She was worthless.

Useless.

If anyone should be dead most, it should have be her . . . She didn't have any strength left to survive, let alone fight back, and she was fully aware that neither did Cornelia (which was quite frankly a miracle, that she, at least, was still alive after so long and against someone so powerful) . . .

"W . . . why . . . WHY? Why didn't you just finish me off instead of my friends, you heartless bitch?" Wilhelmina suddenly heard herself screech out as she flung her head upward and locked eyes with a slightly taken aback Sitara and Cornelia.

Pausing a moment, Sitara replied in a matter-of-fact manner,

". . . Because you're my sister, and I wanted to give you a realistic chance . . . And besides, I didn't 'finish' your friends off -- I simply bound and encased them within their apparently innate gifts. It was their own weakness and broken will that killed them -- not me . . ."

Wilhelmina couldn't believe her ears. Not only was her unfortunate twin sister gut-wrenchingly sadistic, but now she was actually trying to rationalize her murderous transgressions.

"Are you kidding me? You made this some kind of 'family affair,' and so that's why you've spared me but did . . . this to them? What about Mom, then, huh? What was she?" demanded Wilhelmina as her heart continued to accelerate and fill her body with newfound rage.

Despite her increasingly pale demeanor and vaguely decreased body-surrounding dark aura, Sitara's own fury seemed to have taken on a more lax nature, as she returned the cold stare and responded with even coldness,

". . . She was nothing to me . . . it's what she still is . . . However, don't misunderstand me . . . I didn't 'spare' you, as you put it, per say . . . I merely didn't 'Project' you into something lethal and left you unbound because I didn't think you were worth the effort. I thought I was being really fair -- although, come to think of it, it was never much of a fight between us at all, quite honestly . . .

Still, I thought I'd make this a bit of one on one; sister against sister, as it should've been from the start . . . And as a treat, I'll even throw in a free first punch and Cornelia's head on a platter if you win . . ."

At this, Cornelia let out a physically as well as emotionally wounded gasp, as she and Wilhelmina both gazed at Sitara with surprised eyes. She knew that Sitara now felt great hate and betrayal towards her, and even as she literally clung to her life by a thread at that very moment, Cornelia continued to somehow maintain the hope that not only would Sitara come back to her senses, but everything overall would work out in the end . . .

But, to hear her say such a thing about her just then . . . it was the first time throughout the entire ordeal that the dying blonde honestly believed that, perhaps the "old Sitara" she'd first known really was gone . . . Because, while it might have been a bit precocious of her, Cornelia had the hunch that Sitara still cared for her somewhere deep down . . . She had to, otherwise she could have easily have buried Cornelia's entire body underground -- and six feet no less, instead of doing it the way that she ultimately had.

Now, however, the Earth Guardian wasn't so sure . . .

Wilhelmina, meanwhile, was completely outraged and baffled by her twin's proposal. She didn't want any favors from her -- especially one so sick and twisted. Besides, it was entirely crippling to her pride to know that they were both fully aware of her fast depleting life force. Still . . .

Her challenge has renewed my will to keep going, though . . . keep fighting . . . And if it's a fight she wants, I'll give it all that I have -- even without the help of the Heart . . . because I know that my friends will be with me in spirit . . . she thought as she slowly and wobbly rose to her feet.

". . . I'll do it . . . but only if you set Cornelia free . . ." she bargained, knowing deep down that it wouldn't make that much of a difference, as she sensed that Cornelia was not long for this world anyhow.

". . . All right . . . not that it'll matter," complied Sitara, seemingly aware of the very same thing as she snapped her fingers and caused Cornelia to magically rise from out of the ground and gingerly collapse back onto it.

For a brief instant, Wilhelmina could see what she thought were unshed tears lightly shining within her sister's otherwise bleak eyes. However, it appeared as though she'd simply blinked them away, for as soon as she did so, they were gone.

Rushing to her side as fast and as steadily as she could, Wilhelmina scooped up Cornelia's dirt covered body within her weak arms, and peered down at her with worried eyes.

". . . Cornelia . . . hang on, okay? As soon as this is over, I'll get you to the hospital . . . I can't lose you too . . ." she murmured, her own tears reforming as she felt her growing ire momentarily dissipate into pure sorrow.

Cornelia, whose breathing had all but stopped by that point, slowly looked from Wilhelmina to Sitara and weakly smiled.

"F . . . Fight . . . w . . . with . . . love . . ." she spoke in a barely audible whisper before her breathing at last ceased, her vibrant blue eyes glazed over and remained staring at her "indirect" murderer . . .

-- End of Chapter Eighteen

(A.N. I was GOING to keep this chapter "concealed" until I finished nineteen, then post them both at once. But I hate this chapter the most of them all that I couldn't stand to keep it on the computer any longer. Because, reading it over, it feels like I'm missing something, but when my friend read it, SHE thought it was "perfect." Curses. I had to have great and loyal friends. LoL PLUS, I wrote this when I was half asleep, and finished EDITING it not a moment before, ALSO half asleep. So I'm sure I've missed some things, but don't bother pointing it out to me, please, as it's kind of "annoying," and I usually catch it of COURSE after I post the damned thing, anyway. LoL So, sue me -- not really, because I'm a poor college student. LoL

So. Yeah. LoL I feel bad for JayxKay, though, because she "promised" that "everyone" would love this chapter, PROVIDED that I didn't kill the girls off . . . Can we say, "oops?" LoL Sorry! But I'm just as diabolical as Sitara, it seems. :Shrugs: Go, fig. LoL So, yes. I've been preparing for days, the yelling and screaming I will get about this chapter because of that, so bring it on. LoL

But, hey: at least NOW I've created another, new W.I.T.C.H. story recently that is FAR more upbeat and funny than this one. So go read that one for a laugh after you've cried and vomited over how each of them died . . . Eeeeyeah. Not really funny, but ok. LoL)