Chapter 13
To Realize
Wanda was walking with her friends, her hands behind her head. She was ignoring the talking while she thought about something her father was telling her about earlier that day.
"You know the dance going on Valentine's Day? Have you guys been asked to it yet?" Asked Cerella.
"No... Not yet." Sighed Ingrid, clearly annoyed by Cerella's constant talk about an event three weeks from now.
"Odin has already asked me. I'm just having trouble deciding what to wear!" Cerella twirled around on the spot, her long golden hair flapping about her as she moved. Today she was wearing a light pink shirt, maroon vest, and skirt, along with some light pink shoes. Her golden hair was in a maroon pony tail.
"Whoopdedo for you." Grumbled Wanda, who had been in a foul mood all day. She wore a purple shirt, blue jeans, and white tennis shoes. The Heart of Kandrikor was around her neck underneath the collar of her shirt to remain unseen by any passerby.
"What's with you?" Blinked Tress. Her black hair was in a single braid that day, and she wore an orange shirt, blue jean jacket, tan pants, and black shoes.
"Nothing." She lied. "I've got to go, I'll see you guys later." And she was off.
HuiLing blinked many times before turning on Cerella.
"You just HAD to bring up boys in to the conversation didn't you?" She asked. She wore a lilac shirt, purple skirt, and lilac shoes that day.
"What? Sooner or later Derek's going to ask her out, it's only a matter of time." Shrugged Cerella, oblivious to the glare she was receiving.
"That's not it..." Sighed Ingrid.
"Then what?" Cerella turned and was walking backwards while they talked now.
Ingrid stopped walking, thus so did the others.
"Her father's going to be performing at that dance, I overheard the Principal talking to him about it. And because it's Valentine's Day, there's going to be all kinds of guys that will be wanting to ask Wanda to a dance that she most likely won't attend JUST because she's Matt Olson's daughter. There, that clear enough for you?" Explained Ingrid.
Cerella blinked.
"I don't know what her problem is. I'd be flattered to have so many guys trying to ask me out." Cerella sighed dramatically.
"Hey guys," A voice came from behind them, and the four girls turned to see one of their classmates. A boy called Nick who had blond hair and blazing blue eyes. "I-is Wanda with you at all?" He asked rather nervously.
"Sorry, she stormed off a short while ago." Cerella said before anyone could stop her.
"Ah... I see... well, I'll just see if I can't talk to her later. See you round!" He looked rather disappointed.
"What was that all about?" Asked Derek as the boy disappeared. He had been looking for the girls all over town that day.
"Oh, just the first school boy trying to call on Wanda." Smiled HuiLing.
"What?" Blinked Derek in confusion.
"Why do boys have to be such idiots?" Asked Tress.
"Valentines Day is three weeks away, stupid." Explained Cerella to Derek in a know-it-all tone of voice that always got on his nerves.
"And with Wanda being here, and the daughter of a famous band guitarist, all kinds of guys will be seeking her heart over the next few weeks." HuiLing sidled up to the boy with a glint in her black eyes that meant the assault was going to start again.
Something in HuiLing's words had struck a cord today, however.
"Valentine's Day soon huh?" He looked at all the expectant eyes. "What?" He stepped back from the four girls a few paces.
Wanda walked alone down the streets of Heatherfield. Her feet found them wandering down the street of her mother's new job, a pet shop owned by her grandfather on her father's side. Blinking when she reached the doors, she stepped in, looking around at all the animals.
"Wanda! What are you doing in here on a Saturday? I thought you were with your friends?" Will blinked in surprise from behind the counter.
"I got bored of all the guy talk." She shrugged with a smile. "Can I stay here for a while, Mom?" She asked, sidling behind the counter as another customer came in through the door.
"Sure." Smiled Will. And she put Wanda to work on caring for the salamanders in their heated tanks, or the cats in their cages letting them out and play on the tall cat condo posts.
Sometime around noon, Matt and Derek came in through the door having run in to each other after Derek escaped the four girls that were Wanda's friends. Derek stared for a moment when he saw Wanda playing with a white, long furred kitten on one of the taller cat posts. She was laughing as the kitten nearly fell, but caught the little thing in her hands.
She turned to her mother.
"Mom, can I keep this one, please?" She asked as she moved some of her long brown hair back behind her shoulders with a free hand while the kitten climbed her other arm.
"Well..." She looked at Matt.
"I guess it wouldn't hurt, you practically live here when you're not with your friends just to play with her." Shrugged her father.
"Thank you!" Said Wanda brightly, she then spotted Derek. "Hi!" She said.
Derek blinked, caught off guard at having been spotted. He rarely saw her so cheerful except with her friends.
"Well, I'd better get a tag for her... what do you want to call her?" Asked Will, referring to the kitten.
"How about... Mimiru?" She asked. "It's a name I heard from a show on television that I liked. It seems to suit her. But I'll call her Mimi for short." She smiled as her mother came from behind the counter with a pink collar to put around the cats neck.
"Here you go, with some room to grow in to even." Will put the collar around the kitten's neck and made sure the cat wouldn't be hurt by it.
"Personally I'm surprised she didn't pick a lizard." Matt was saying as he handed Will her lunch bag.
"Well, at least she picked an animal with more responsibility to it." Will smiled as she eyed Wanda going over to say hello to Derek.
"So, what's up?" Asked Wanda, still letting her new cat play on her shoulder.
"Just escaped your friends." Admitted Derek.
"OUCH..." Said Wanda suddenly as her new cat bit down on some hair right next to her right ear. "Mimi..." She tried reaching over but could not quite get the cat to let go from the angle she was at.
"Here..." Derek reached over and carefully pulled the cat's teeth from the hair.
Will and Matt looked at each other with raised eyebrows before Matt walked by the two and put a strong hand on Derek.
"Let's get going, kiddo, Wanda needs to get back to work." He added.
Derek blinked at Matt before handing the cat back to Wanda and walking out with Matt.
Wanda went back to taking care of the cats while letting her own roam free. Mimi surprisingly enough hung around Wanda's feet like a baby chick the rest of the day, somehow knowing Wanda was her new owner and couldn't have looked happier about it. She decided when she was at her mother's job to help her because she too loved animals so much. She would also bring her cat with her and let the kitten roam free so long as she had her pink collar with the name tag clipped to it. It quickly became an odd sight not to see Wanda at her mother's work without her cat Mimi, who was fast growing and very social under the care and attention that Wanda gave her.
One afternoon after school, Cerella, Tress, Ingrid and HuiLing were at the shop helping Wanda earn a tall cat condo scratching post for Mimi's use at the house when Derek came running in.
"What's up?" Blinked Wanda just as she was dipping some rats in to the snake tanks for the creatures inside to devour.
"I'm sorry, but there's bad news. Cedric is attacking the village just below the castle in Meridian." Derek breathed as he tried to catch his breath.
"It's ok," Said Will, coming out from the back room, having heard the statement. "I'll keep Mimi here." She picked up the kitten that was trying to claw in Wanda's direction.
"Ready girls?" Wanda looked over at her friends, who nodded. Wanda pulled out the Heart of Kandrikor from underneath her shirt collar, and held it up. "Guardians Unite!" She called out when the other four had surrounded her in a square.
There was a flash of red light that quickly turned in to five spheres, one red, the second watery blue, the third bright green and the last was sky blue. The spheres enveloped the girls, and turned pure red before vanishing and revealing the girls in their Guardian outfits. Wanda took the Heart of Kandrikor then and did the swiping motion to form the bridge between Earth and Meridian, then the group stepped through it with Derek following shortly.
Wanda reemerged right on the outskirts of the village, which turned out to be a good judgement call. The group had to dodge a shower of needles from Rhea the moment they arrived. Cerella raised her hands from her spot in the air, and a wall of thick earth shot up in front of her brother as a fresh wave of needles came at him.
HuiLing sent a wave of spiraling air at the needles, sending them to Cedric, who had yet to take his lizard form.
In reaction he did take the form of the giant lizard, and smashed his tail down on the flat ends of the needles, slamming them to the ground with an earth shaking boom.
"So, Guardians, you've shown yourselves on Meridian once again!" Cedric hissed.
"Did you miss us?" Asked Ingrid as the group flew back together and landed.
"Not necessarily." Replied Rhea, her eyes narrowing.
There was a tense moment of silence between the group as Derek walked up to stand next to his sister.
Cedric moved his eyes in Wanda's direction and a smirk crossed his lips.
"Rhea... You know the plan." He hissed.
"Yes." She replied, reaching in to her shirt and pulling out a group of four needles that somehow looked different from the ones she had used on them before.
The girls tensed, wondering what was coming next when Rhea threw the needles at them. The five girls took to the air at once while Derek dodged out of the way. The needles exploded on contact with the ground, ripping it apart before their very eyes.
"Whoo... good thing we've got quick reflexes." Sighed HuiLing in relief.
Another wave of needles went in Wanda's direction, and Ingrid was the first to react this time. She raised her hands, and spheres of water appeared, engulfing each needle. HuiLing then sent a blast of cold air in their direction and the spheres of water turned in to perfect spheres of ice before clunking to the ground and exploding once again.
"I think she's trying to make a point of some kind..." Smiled HuiLing.
"Yeah, I don't wanna stick around long enough to find out what it is though." Said Wanda, bringing up her right hand and sending blast after blast of lightning in the direction of Cedric and Rhea who had to move quick to avoid being electrocuted.
Rhea managed to flash step out of the way while Cedric moved in another direction away from the group.
Derek watched the fight continue against Rhea, who seemed determined to kill at least one of the Guardians before the day was done.
"At least this isn't one of Cerella's sewing lessons..." Said Tress.
"Yeah, hers are more explosive than this." Smiled Ingrid, earning a glare from Cerella.
There was a flash of needle that missed Wanda's right ear by inches, and Wanda ended up having to dodge by getting back on the ground.
Rhea took advantage of the moment by reaching in to her shirt with both hands and pulling out eight needles and throwing them at lightning speed at Wanda from the sidelines.
Derek acted fast at that moment, seeing what was happening before it happened and ran at Wanda. He wrapped his arms around her in a moment and knocked her out of the way. The two landed sideways on the ground as the spot where she had been standing was torn apart by the eight explosive needles, sending rubble and rocks everywhere. Once things calmed down, Wanda stood up.
"You ok?" Asked Derek as he too rose to his feet, and Wanda nodded, still looking a little shaken up from the event.
"Stupid boy..." Growled Rhea. "Interfering with my work."
"If I'm such a stupid boy how come I always seem to have the upper hand over you?" Retorted Derek, unable to restrain himself from that comment.
"Chance and luck, tools you and your Guardians seem to be able to utilize quite well." Rhea prepared more needles for another onslaught.
"Just a one trick pony? Boring." Sighed Ingrid.
At that moment, a wave of water shot from the side, and Fusagu appeared on the scene, the palms of his hands directed at Cedric and Rhea.
"Glad I got here just on time." He said with a smile at his friends. "Your Mom got a hold of me and told me where to find you guys." He looked at Wanda. "And the Queen opened up a veil for me."
Rhea was soaking wet now and slightly weakened by the blast of water that caught her by surprise.
"The cavalry is here, eh?" She grumbled.
"Rhea, why do you keep fighting with Phobos and Cedric? You know they are the evil ones!" Said Fusagu, who looked odd in his Earth clothing- he wore a blue shirt, jean jacket, black pants, and shoes.
"Says a little boy..." Grumbled Rhea.
"A little boy who's done much more than you could imagine to redeem himself already." Retorted Ingrid, landing in front of Fusagu, a fiercely protective gleam in her eyes. She had begun to look at Fusagu as a little brother, and he blinked up in surprise at the Guardians' back. "HuiLing!" Shouted Ingrid, and HuiLing nodded as Rhea sent a wave of needles at the two.
A wave of water shot up between Ingrid and the needles, then half a second later it became a wall of ice that shattered once the needles came in to contact and exploded.
While Rhea was distracted, Wanda saw this as a moment to attack, and looked at Tress and the two nodded. Flying together, they directed their hands at Cedric, who braced himself and started towards them. A pillar of fire shot from Tress' hand, and a spiral of lightning from Wanda's. The two elements combined in to a sparkling pillar of fire and lightning that when they struck Cedric, caused him to let out a lizard-like roar of rage and pain before transforming back in to his human form, crouched on the ground.
"Cedric!" Rhea turned in surprise.
"Don't get distracted, isn't that what you always tell us?" Asked Cerella, landing on the ground and planting her hands on it the moment she landed.
The ground started shaking violently, then a whole hill seemed to rise where Cedric had been standing.
Rhea and Cedric were both forced to move fast. Rhea's eyes gleamed silver as she hovered in the air. She looked at Wanda, and her eyes narrowed in a smile.
"You haven't even begun to see my power, Guardians." She said, flash stepping in mid air, grabbing Cedric, and landing far enough away that the Guardians' power could not reach them. "Next time, I'll give you guys a real show."
"Wait!" Shouted Wanda, but a strong hand clamped down on her right wrist, stopping her from going after Rhea and Cedric. She looked back at Derek with a frown. He frowned back at her.
"Glare at me all you like, but it's pointless chasing after something that's not there." He stated, pointing with his free hand at the spot where the two had been just moments ago.
"What was the point of all this?" Blinked HuiLing, landing next to Wanda.
"Not a clue." Shrugged Ingrid, looking back at Fusagu.
"Maybe it was to test us?" Suggested Tress.
"Test...?" Stared Ingrid.
"That's exactly what this was about... I could feel Phobos watching us the whole time." Said Fusagu, walking up to join the group. "We need to be careful in the future about how we fight, and not reveal too many new techniques to him."
"I get it." Cerella had stood up and was with the group. "Keep the element of surprise."
"Well, you're not so much of the stupid blond stereotype as you make yourself out to be." Smirked Ingrid.
"Nice." Grumbled Cerella while HuiLing and Tress giggled madly.
"You can let go now, you know." Wanda snapped at Derek, who blinked realizing he had not released her yet, and did so looking rather abashed.
At this, Cerella and the others looked at each other with smirks on their faces.
"What?" Wanda demanded.
"Nothing! Let's get back to Earth before Mimi tries to eat the cat post in your Mom's store." HuiLing flew over to Wanda's side, still smiling broadly in spite of herself.
"So... the new Guardian's powers are improving... Not unexpected." Phobos muttered as he dismissed the sand mirror that showed him what the Guardians were up to, and what was going on in Meridian.
"So now what? We plan our next move?" Asked an impatient Rhea.
"Yes." Nodded Phobos. "And to do that... we shall summon... Ice..."
"Ice? Her?" Snapped Rhea, now annoyed.
"It is a pleasure to finally serve you my lord." Came a voice that chilled everyone to the bone. Ice appeared from the shadows, her brilliant blue eyes gleaming in the darkness as she looked up at Phobos.
"I'm home!" Wanda called in to the house.
"Hi, honey, you're rather late tonight." Susan smiled. "Your Mom told me all about how hard you're working to earn some more toys for little Mimi. Dinner's ready for you."
"Thanks. Where's grandpa?" Blinked Wanda, looking around. "And Daddy?"
"Oh, your Dad had to stay late for his work too, and Grandpa is working at the school with some essays handed in late." She said with a raised eyebrow, and Wanda gave a nervous laugh as she took off her shoes at the door before going over to the table with Mimi right on her tail.
Wanda saw that hot homemade soup was on the table waiting for her.
"Well... at least according to Mom, grandma's cooking got better after she married." Smiled Wanda, petting her cat's back.
"What was that?" Her Grandmother said from the doorway.
"Nothing! Nothing!" Said Wanda rather quickly before starting to eat her soup rather fast. "Thanks for dinner!" She told her grandmother before running up the stairs and being chased by her cat. She flopped on to her bed while Mimi had to take at least three tries before making it up with her on the bed. Wanda rolled over and pinned the kitten in her arms.
The kitten purred, rubbing its face against hers, and Wanda couldn't help but giggle a little bit, scratching behind Mimi's ears, sitting up and taking the Heart of Kandrikor from around her neck and putting it on its spot hanging around the hoop of her bedside lamp before changing in to a purple nightdress.
Mimi danced around Wanda's feet, pawing at them playfully as it moved and jumping back when her feet moved to avoid getting stepped on. When Wanda got under her covers, her kitten bounced on to the bed after another three tries and curled up near her head on the pillows as she turned off the bedroom light. The heart of Kandrikor seemed to glow in the darkness, a deep, calming red light.
The cat looked at the necklace a long time, its blue eyes clashing brilliantly against the red light of the crystal, before going to sleep at last.
An hour later, Will and Matt arrived home, and checked on their daughter. By then, the light had faded, and Mimi was asleep as well as Wanda. Will closed the door, leaving Wanda to her sleep.
