Chapter Nine:

Veritable Pandemonium

Derek was in the lead, and the girls and Fusagu were directly behind him. The cavern opened up the deeper underground they moved.

Fusagu suddenly shouted at the group.

"Stop!"

Everyone turned back at him.

"What is it?" Asked Ingrid.

"Phobos laid some traps nearby in case anyone ever got this far. I need to take charge so that we can safely navigate through without triggering them." He replied, his face more serious and dark than Ingrid thought it should be for someone so young.

"All right." Nodded Derek, seeing the seriousness in the boys' eyes. He hoped that Ingrid and Wanda's judgement in him proved to be right. Apparently the other girls thought the same as he did, for they did not look so thrilled or willing for Fusagu to take charge.

"We'll have to go slowly for some time, but if I say to run, you must do so Derek. The girls will have to fly so as to not trigger the traps. Phobos counted on this new generation of Guardians to mess with his plans." Fusagu stepped forward. "If there are too many feet on this ground, then the vibrations will set off a chain reaction." He explained at their doubtful expressions. "Normally he only comes with Cedric, but when he learned that the former Guardian Will Olson had left the Heart of Kandrikor behind on Earth somewhere, he prepared for the day that this would happen."

They all nodded.

"So it's safe to assume we can loose these cloaks?" Asked Cerella.

"Since we're so close..." Wanda began.

"No." Derek shook his head before she could finish. "We'll wait for the very last possible minute. We don't want to reveal ourselves yet, even though Phobos probably already knows we're here after the fiasco back there. But we can't take any chances."

Wanda shot an irritated glare at Derek, who chose not to react. He was too used to her quick mood changes to let it get to him.

"Let's just go, okay?" HuiLing smiled, sensing danger in the air and not wanting to break up a fight between Wanda and Derek when they were so near their goal. She was getting anxious at being able to see her mother again.

After taking flight, the girls followed Fusagu and Derek through the cavernous hall. They could see from above the length at which Phobos prepared for them.

"Here." Said Fusagu when they reached a great oak door at the end of the hall. "This is where your parents are being held."

He pushed the doors open easily, and the girls looked into the room beyond. It was even darker than before, but they could see a single cell off to the side.

"We'll need to block the entrance to give us time to get them out." Stated Ingrid.

Cerella moved to the doors, closed them, then directed her hand at the ground. Thick roots and trees sprung upward and barricaded the door.

"Who's there?" Came Will's voice from the cell.

Derek gave the girls a look that said 'stay back', and he and Fusagu went over to the cell.

"Hey Mom." He said.

"Derek!" Cornelia's face was filled with relief at the sight of her son. "What are you doing here? Are the girls all right? Where's Cerella?"

"Calm down, former Guardian, or you'll reveal that we're here." Warned Fusagu as kindly as he could.

"Hey, weren't you one of Phobos' friends?" HayLin looked down at the boy.

"He was, but now he's on our side. He helped us avoid Phobos' traps." Explained Derek quickly as a roar of rage could be heard in the distance.

"Hurry!" HuiLing zoomed over to the cell. "I think he's coming!"

"Tress, get these bars taken care of!" Wanda tried pulling at them, but they were pure metal.

"Gotcha." Nodded Tress.

She focussed her fire balls in to small points, and set to work. She was glad to be able to do something important once again. She loved working with fire, after all. And working with the bars like this almost made her feel like a welder.

Wanda smiled at her mother and father, but before she could say anything to them, a loud banging on the door tore her attention from them.

"They're here!" Said HuiLing, landing on the ground.

The first bar came clattering down to the ground. All Tress needed was enough space for one person to get through, so that meant three more bars to go.

"How much time do you need?" Asked Derek.

"Five more minutes." Replied Tress.

"And they'll be in here before then..." Cerella looked at the door.

The girls watched as the door was slowly being forced open.

"I wondered how long it would take for them to figure out we got past their cronies." Frowned Ingrid.

"Well, no point in these things anymore." Smirked Wanda.

She then tossed aside her cloak, and the others followed suit before Derek could say anything.

The seconds ticked by, and finally with a loud crash the doors burst open. Cedric stormed in followed by his soldiers.

"Wow, Cerella looks just like you Cornelia!" HayLin said as Cedric took to his giant lizard form right before their very eyes.

Cedric let out a yell that shook the ceiling, and the soldiers lunged forward.

"We don't know how you got through our Masters' hall without triggering the traps, but you go no farther new Guardians." He growled.

"We need to give her more time." Muttered Wanda to the others, referring to Tress. They nodded, and spread out.

Cerella was the first to react to the onslaught. She knelt down and placed her right hand on the ground. Huge bowlders came tearing out from underneath and sent several of the soldiers flying in to the wall, knocking them unconscious.

Ingrid and Fusagu looked at each other before raising their hands. Four pillars of water acted like whips as the soldiers started to get nearer, wiping them away.

"I have a bone to pick with you, child." Cedric hissed at Wanda, moving at her.

HuiLing saw Cedric making his way directly towards Wanda.

"Hey! Big, dumb and ugly! Up here!" HuiLing shouted. She zoomed all around her, trying her best to distract Cedric before he reached Wanda.

"Be careful!" Shouted HayLin.

"Hey Mom, careful's my middle name!" HuiLing called back. In the next second, Cedric's tail came crashing down on her before moving in an instant to wrap around Wanda and hold her upside down in front of his face.

HuiLing rubbed her head.

"Wanda!" Shouted Will.

Cerella, Ingrid and HuiLing all looked up. Derek was fighting off the soldiers that were attempting to attack Tress as she worked feverishly to get to the last bar that she needed.

"You nearly prevented me from reaching my goal earlier, brat." Cedric looked Wanda directly into the eyes.

"For starters, my name's not "Brat". It's Wanda. And secondly, didn't my Mom teach you not to play with lightning?" Snapped Wanda. "You'll get shocked if you do."

Her eyes narrowed as she concentrated. And the next thing everyone saw, was electricity surging out of her and engulfing Cedric. Cedric howled in pain and rage and was forced to let Wanda go.

"Wanda!" Shouted Derek, who was now nearby.

She tumbled to the ground, but did not make contact with it. Opening her eyes, she stared up at Derek in blank shock for several moments that he had managed to catch her.

"Hey, Prince Charming, we have a battle going on!" Called Ingrid from the other side of Cedric.

Derek let Wanda down quickly when he saw her face turn scarlet at Ingrid's comment. Although he personally rather enjoyed the moment, however brief it had been.

There was a loud and final clank of metal on earth, and Wanda glanced back to the cell. Her mother and father were walking out of it, followed by HayLin, Irma, Cornelia, and Terrane.

Cedric let out another fierce yell, then raised his tail. This time Wanda was ready and took to the air to avoid getting struck or caught by it.

"All right! Now I can join in!" Tress cried out. She raised her hands as though she had a bow and arrow in them. Her fire arrow appeared and she cocked it.

Fusagu and Ingrid had their hands at the ready to raise water from below, while Cerella had a hand on the wall with a determined look on her face. HuiLing and Wanda were in the air looking down at Cedric, while Derek was standing with the parents looking up.

"Man, isn't this de' ja vu?" Asked Irma as she looked at the girls.

"Wanda's already learning her power of Quintessence though." Will looked at her with pride.

Cerella looked around the cavern, seeing everyone so tense and ready for action as Cedric glared around. The giant beast swung his tail around at Wanda and HuiLing, who got out of the way as quickly as they could. The tail crashed in to the wall, nearly knocking Cerella off her feet.

She planted her hand back on the wall, and giant roots surged forward and wrapped around the tail of Cedric and pinning it to the wall. Ingrid and Fusagu raised their hands in unison to the air, and a giant single wave of water roared around them, circling and constantly moving with them. They directed it at Cedric, who struggled and broke free of Cerella's trap. Wanda sent a pillar of lightning in to the water just before it reached the giant lizard.

"Nice!" Said HuiLing as Cedric and the soldiers were thrown out of the room by the electrified water.

Tress released her fire arrow at Cedric when he started to recover at the other end of the hall. It flew several feet at full speed before slamming in to his chest and forcing him over the edge in to the abyss. They heard his outraged cry as he and his soldiers fell backwards.

Silence rang for several moments as the girls stared in to the hall, and listened. There was no sound of Cedric or his men.

Then a burst of noise shook the room. It was not rage or the sound of battle. But of joy and relief. The girls went straight to their mothers and embraced them. Derek and Cerella both hugged Cornelia. Wanda was so joyous that she could not speak, but held her mother and father silently. HayLin swung her daughter around once HuiLing reached her, and Ingrid held her mother tightly. Tress and Terrane held each other, and Terrane wiped the tears from her daughters' face.

When the moment was over, the girls and Derek pulled away from their parents and Ingrid spoke up.

"Mom, this is Fusagu. He used to work for Phobos, but now he's on our side." She said.

"Pleased to meet you, Former Guardian." Fusagu bowed to Irma, who looked awkward at being bowed to by a small child.

"He may look tiny, but he packs quite the punch." Smiled Ingrid.

"This is nice and all, but how do we get back to the Castle now that we're together again?" Asked Tress.

"Didn't Caleb tell you guys how to use the Heart of Kandrikor?" Asked Will.

"We didn't really have time to go in to great detail about how to use our powers, Mom." Wanda scratched the back of her head.

Will sighed.

"All we had time for was a bit of training before coming out here." Explained Cerella. "Dad let Derek help out, though. And he was great."

"All right, Wanda, pull out the Heart of Kandrikor please." Smiled Will.

When Wanda did as instructed, Will continued.

"Now, imagine your destination as clearly as you can. The place we need to go back to before Phobos gets here, because no doubt he's on his way now. The Heart of Kandrikor can be used as a Veil Opener. We can travel back to the Castle in Meridian using it." She said.

"But how do I use it like that?" Asked Wanda.

Will did the motion that she remembered like the back of her hand, looking like she was opening a giant zipper in the air with her right hand.

"Just like that, and while your doing it, remember to keep the castle in your mind as strongly as you can." She finished.

"Right." Wanda nodded, swallowed, then closed her eyes to focus on the throne room of the Palace. She could see it clearly in her mind, and felt the Heart of Kandrikor glowing in her hand as she did so. Opening her eyes, she imitated her mother's action perfectly.

"Let's go. Wanda, you are going to have to be last so you can close it." Said Will.

Again, Wanda nodded. She watched as by twos and threes they entered the bright light that appeared when she moved her hand with the crystal.

At the last second, however, Wanda felt something pierce her right shoulder just as Derek, Cerella and HuiLing were about to cross in to the Veil. Her body was starting to feel numb and she stumbled.

"Wanda? What's wrong?" HuiLing was right there before either of them.

"That needle..." Cerella's eyes were wide, and she instantly looked up at the door way in to the room. "YOU!" She shouted at the person in rage as Wanda collapsed.

Rhea was kneeling, blood still flowing down her face and neck from the collision of the ceiling.

"The Master did not want her... to be harmed..." Gasped Rhea. "I will succeed in what the others did not." The hand that threw the needle was trembling as she struggled to her feet.

Cerella raised her hands, clearly outraged at the sight.

"I thought I finished you off!" She glared. She clenched her hands in to fists, and pillars of earth rose one right after another in to the air to the ceiling, blocking Rhea from her target.

"Let's get out of here! The Queen can close the veil!" Derek said, a look of panic on his face as he looked at HuiLing holding Wanda carefully.

Cerella turned and helped HuiLing carry Wanda as Derek vanished in to the veil. The three were the last in to the throne room of the Castle, where everyone was waiting anxiously for them. . . .