Chapter 24:
Find Your Way
The return to Heatherfield wasn't the triumphant, joyful journey they hoped it would be. HayLin was rather upset with her daughter, who had chosen Sunday to fall asleep for far too long, nearly causing them to miss their airplane back home. The only upside was that Principal Knickerbocker already knew they were going to be gone until Tuesday.
Derek was to be found later Monday after noon walking the streets of Heatherfield alone. He managed to slip out of the condominium apartment while his mother and sister were busy arguing about what kind of salad to have for lunch. This was the last day until the antidote would be completed, then they would be able to get Wanda back and set things right with her. And after that, he had to go back to training Stevie as well.
Speaking of...
As Derek walked past the familiar trek in front of the Green Dragon Chinese Restaurant, he saw Stevie standing outside as though wondering if he should go in, clearly nervous about something.
"Hey." Derek waved at the boy. All in all, he wasn't that bad. In their last training session, the boy had advanced to using an actual sword against the dummy he was training with that Derek and Blunk put together.
"Oh, hi... I was just..." Stevie was clearly caught off guard by seeing his mentor coming out of no where.
"About to go in?" Smirked Derek. He understood all about how one's feelings towards another could make them do crazy things. Especially, he thought, when the person you loved was being controlled by the enemy like a puppet. At least Stevie didn't have to put up with that when it came to HuiLing.
"Yeah, that." Stevie opened the door. "How about we catch a small lunch and you can tell me about Hawaii?" He asked.
"Sure." Derek shrugged, not having had any other plans for the day at any rate.
As they walked in, Derek blinked at the familiar sights of the Chinese Restaurant.
"Stevie! Derek!" HuiLing's voice came from the kitchen, causing a few people to glance up from their meals as she came out, wearing her usual teal blue Chinese shirt, black shorts, shoes, and white socks. Her knee length black hair was in its normal braided pigtails, which were braided to the middle of her back. Today, however, there was a small change in her appearance: She wore a pair of simple gold hoop earrings in her ears that matched the gold dragons on her shirt, and the gold trim on her sleeves and neckline. Her apron was plain white with a black tie.
Stevie smiled and waved, walking over to her as Derek hung back.
"Ah, the two chunks are back!" YanLin said when she came out to see what the noise was all about.
"Grandma, I've told you before, it's Hunks, not chunks." HayLin sighed, coming out with two arm-fulls of plates before she went to a table filled with a mother, father and two children. Nearby sat a lone girl in an all black outfit with short hair and pale skin, sitting at a booth table in a corner where she could watch the traffic while she waited for her lunch. Derek thought he'd seen this girl before, but where?
Stevie had to cover up a snort of laughter by hiding it behind a particularly violent and random sneeze.
"Business still going strong then?" Derek asked.
"Blasting." YanLin replied.
"That's Booming, Grandma." HayLin sighed at how her grandmother could always mess up common phrases, intentional or otherwise.
Derek and Stevie placed their orders with HuiLing, and when she'd gone then returned with their drinks- Stevie a diet pepsi, and Derek a coffee.
"So, tell me how Hawaii went?" Stevie said at once.
And Derek told him all about the beauty of the islands, how they really did look like a post card once you got there.
"Though I would have preferred enjoying that sunset if my girlfriend was there with me." Derek said at the end of the story.
"Gotta be tough, man." Stevie said sympathetically. "Knowing she's tailing you on Phobos' orders, but not able to recognize you properly."
Derek looked out of the window to his left at the booth table they were at. Yes, he thought, it was hard. Before he hadn't been sure when he confessed to Wanda if he loved her or not, but after they got together, then were torn so abruptly apart, he knew for sure now. And he knew that she would need to understand that when she came back. He only hoped that he would get the chance to tell her, since no doubt all of her friends would want to clamor over her for attention and reassurance on her end over what happened.
"Excuse me..." The girl wearing all black with short hair had approached them at one point. Her voice was soft, but there was something mysterious about her. Like she didn't quite belong in this world.
Derek glanced up at her. This time he was able to see her properly, and knew who she was.
"My name is Cybelle... I'm not here to fight!" She added quickly when Derek had recognized her as the girl who'd been with Wanda at the castle in Meridian when he'd been to see her. She held up her hands to show that she had no weapons on her. Finally Derek and Stevie relaxed. "The Lady Wanda says that what you guys are attempting isn't working, and to stop before you get too deeply injured."
"She doesn't know what she's talking about then." Snapped an angry Derek. "I won't stop until I get her back." He added, and Cybelle's eyes went wide.
Cybelle could see why Wanda had fallen for this man before she was captured. There was such a determined look in his blue eyes that it was hard to argue with him.
"Why are you here? Just to deliver a message?" Asked Derek after a long silence.
"Well... yes. I'm more loyal to her than I am to Phobos... Besides, not everyone in Meridian is evil. You should know that by now." She winked at a bemused Derek and Stevie before going back to her table.
"That was...Weird." Stevie craned his head around to look at the girl.
Derek wasn't sure what to think, however. Whether or not it was a trick from Phobos, or a genuine message Wanda had sent through this girl. It was confusing to say the least, as he looked out the window.
"Boy, you look like you've seen better days." Said HuiLing when she came over with arm fulls of plates for them. She set their meals in front of the boys on their tables, before being called back by YanLin.
"Hurry up, Great Granddaughter! Lunch rush is crazy time!" YanLin called from the kitchens before HuiLing had time to talk with the boys.
HuiLing gave an annoyed look at her Great Grandmother's back, before waving at the boys and leaving to get back to work.
"So..." Stevie looked back at Derek. "You still going at it then? Getting your girl back I mean."
"Yeah. I don't care what she or that other person says. Where there's a will there's a way. And speaking of wills and ways... let's talk about your training." Derek suddenly became all business when he looked back at Stevie, who blinked several times, staring at him.
"Dangit... I was hoping we wouldn't get to this subject." Sighed Stevie.
"Well, training is going to be on hold until we can get Wanda back. That's all I wanted to say. It's going to be hell the next few days after today, because that antidote's being finished up as we speak. I'm going to need to put all I have in to finding a way to give it to her." Explained Derek, hiding his surprise at the dread Stevie showed at the new topic.
"Good... because being bested by a trash can with revolving arms is more damage to the ego than I need this week." Sighed Stevie, unable to keep himself from saying that.
"Oh?" Blinked Derek in interest.
"Let's just say I had a soccer game on Sunday while you guys were gone, and I ended up getting face planted in the mud by a rogue ball aimed at me from the other team." Shrugged Stevie, taking a sip of his soda.
Luckily Derek wasn't the type to laugh at the boy's misfortune, although a small little smirk appeared on his face when he thought of Stevie being face down in the mud by a soccer ball.
"Well," He said, making it quite plain that he wasn't about to laugh- at least openly- at Stevie, "Training is going to get tough once we get Wanda back. Since we're going to need all the help we can get to finish off Phobos once and for all."
Stevie sighed.
"Well, some things can't be helped. I did say I wanted to learn how to fight after all." He was now looking through the window.
They ate the rest of their meal joking about what was going on at school, verbally abusing the teachers, and laughing at the Principal and her weird morning announcements over the intercom.
"Well, speaking of school, my lunch break is just about over. So I should head back." Stevie sighed, putting down some money on the table to pay for his tab. He saw HuiLing, then waved at her before leaving.
Derek blinked at the boy. He had the feeling Stevie had been coming here for lunch since HuiLing had left on the trip to Hawaii while waiting for her to come back. He shook his head, paid for his own meal, then left in a silent sort of daze. There was only a few hours left in the afternoon, and he wondered when the group would be summoned to Kandrikar.
He got his answer an hour later when Matt called him on his cell phone.
"You can stop sulking, Derek. We just got the summons, so you need to come over to my place." Matt said.
"I wasn't—" Derek began in protest. Had he been sulking? He knew he'd been moody and withdrawn... He guessed one could call that sulking. "I'll be there in a bit." He sighed, cutting the call. He went in to the kitchen of the Green Dragon. "Sorry to interrupt, but we just got the call." He sent the message encrypted because there was more than just HayLin, YanLin and HuiLing in that kitchen.
"All right, HuiLing you can go. Thanks for the help today." HayLin smiled as she was busy plating some fresh fried prawns.
"Welcome, Mom." HuiLing replied as she pulled off her apron, making a dash for the doors with Derek.
Together the two hurried down the street to the Olsen house, where the others were already gathered and waiting in front of what looked like a two-dimensional violet and white swirling disc floating in mid air with enough width for a person to pass through easily.
"Where's Susan?" Blinked HuiLing, looking around.
"Mom's out shopping. I told her not to expect us for dinner this evening." Will explained. Dean was most likely at school teaching his history class.
"Well, let's transform so we can get over to Kandrikar." Ingrid said.
"Right..." HuiLing withdrew the Heart of Kandrikar, then held it up. "Guardians Unite!"
They were engulfed by the usual orbs of light, and reemerged in their Guardian State.
"Well let's get going. I'll be glad when we can be W.I.T.C.H. again... Sorry Mimiru, but M.I.T.C.H just doesn't sound right." HuiLing was smiling again.
"No offense taken. I don't blame you for wanting Wanda back." Mimiru smiled back as Matt transformed in to Shegon.
Together Will and Shegon passed through in to the disc, but they did not reemerge on the other side. Then Derek went through, followed by HuiLing, Mimiru, Ingrid, Cerella and finally Tress. When they reached Kandrikar, they saw the Oracle and Halinor waiting for them on the front steps. The Oracle held in his hands what looked like a clear bottle shaped like a tear drop the size of an egg, full of a strange looking sky-blue colored liquid.
"It is ready." Said the Oracle with a smile, holding up the bottle.
"How do we give it to her though? It's not likely she's going to be willing to drink something we try to give her." Ingrid pointed out right away.
"You have to gain her trust again." Halinor explained. "I've been meditating on the matter for some time... And discovered that she has residual anger buried deep within."
"You need to find a way to break through and understand that anger that she's worked hard to hide from everyone, even herself. Phobos has managed to capitalize on those deep emotions, it is why he is able to keep such a strong hold over her mental state." Explained the Oracle as he handed the antidote to Derek.
HuiLing blinked. She was about to say something, when an explosion shook the castle, and nearly sent them on their backsides. Violet lightning had struck a nearby pillar from the top left.
"Well, at least we don't have to go looking." Said Tress, whipping around to see Wanda floating above the castle, glaring down at the group.
"Ever heard of knocking politely?" Asked Ingrid, looking up at Wanda.
"How's this for knocking-" Wanda sent another blast of violet lightning at the group from her spot, and the group was forced to scatter.
"Will, stay with Derek!" Shegon said, and Will nodded. She hated not being able to fight back or help in some way.
Shegon flew up to where Wanda was at after that order.
"Wanda, it's me... your Dad." Shegon said calmly.
Wanda chose not to reply, but held up the Crystal of Cepheus ready to attack.
"Wanda..." Shegon said slowly, not daring to get any nearer. He held up his hands to show he wasn't going to be fighting her.
Wanda's eyes narrowed and she shot a fresh wave of violet lightning right at him. He chose not to deflect, and it hit him in the chest. He failed to repress the grunt of pain as the lightning struck.
"Matt!" Will exclaimed from her spot behind another pillar.
"Stay back!" Shegon told her, putting out a hand in warning as he righted himself up again.
"Wanda...!" HuiLing had flown up to join Shegon.
"You..." Glared Wanda, and before HuiLing could say anything, she was met with the same welcome. "Time for talk is over. I don't know what you're planning, but Master Phobos wanted me to put an end to it." She looked down, finding Derek with the bottle in his hands, and prepared to send an attack at him, not thinking or wondering about why they weren't fighting back.
"You know what? She's right..." Ingrid said, abandoning all pretenses and flying in front of Derek as Wanda sent a wave of violet lightning at him. Mimiru joined her side, so that when Ingrid sent a wall of water at Wanda, Mimiru sent a blast of cold air at the water turning it in to a wall of ice that deflected the lightning, shattering in to what looked like a rainbow of thousands of glimmering shards. Next, Ingrid sent a blast of water at Wanda.
That was an act that she quickly came to regret because Wanda took advantage of the water currents, and sent violet lightning directly in to the water. There was a split second pause, then violet lightning erupted all around them.
"Ok, not trying that again." Ingrid raised her arms up to protect her face from the onslaught as Mimiru sent a blast of air to counter the attack.
Wanda hadn't expected this means of fighting back, so when the lightning reached her she let out a yell before plummeting to the floor of the castle. Already, moments after she fell, she was starting to stand up again.
"Wanda, why do you support Phobos still?" HuiLing landed in front of her. "He's feeding you nothing but lies in order to keep you on his side."
"Isn't it better to be feared for something I am than loved for something I'm not?" Growled Wanda, raising her hand that held the Crystal of Cepheus and sending a whip of lightning at HuiLing.
Shegon was in between the girls in an instant, then managed to block the lightning attack with his own blast of energy from his eyes.
"Why are you so angry?" He asked. "Who are you angry at?"
Wanda did not reply, she'd gotten to her feet and stood at her full height. She was looking at HuiLing in a way that told her to brace herself again.
"Mr. Olsen... I know it's gotta be hard for you, but let me face her." HuiLing said finally. "She's my best friend, after all."
Shegon looked back at HuiLing.
"We'll all have to face her..." Cerella was looking to the side as a gust of wind blew through the castle of Kandrikar.
Shegon nodded, before flying off to stand with Will and Derek, who were watching with apprehension.
"Wanda..." HuiLing looked at her friend as Ingrid, Tress, Mimiru and Cerella stood beside her in a row. "I don't want to do this. Please stop."
There was a pause.
"If you hate this so much, then why are you doing it?" Retorted Wanda, gripping the Crystal of Cepheus hard in her right hand.
"Because it's the only way to get through to you!" HuiLing half shouted. She then saw the attack coming before it reached her.
"QUINTESSENCE!" The pair shouted in unison.
Violent waves of violet and white lightning met in between the two, but both held their ground, the sound of the energy crackling and sparkling was deafening, Will had to cover her ears. The Oracle and Halinor had to duck inside to avoid being accidentally struck by the attacks.
To give HuiLing more power, Ingrid directed her hands at the lighting coming from HuiLing's hands.
"Water!" She called out, summoning what looked like a whip of water that flowed continuously around HuiLing's hands, and in to the white lightning attack. The white lightning wave seemed to double in size as it's power increased.
Mimiru stepped forward this time, standing on HuiLing's right side. She sent a continuous blast of hot air in to the mix.
"Air!" Mimiru called out the summoning phrase for her full power.
Tress joined the trio next, putting the palms of her hands together as though in prayer, then directing her clasped fingers at the combination of attacks going at Wanda.
"Fire!" Her voice boomed out, and what looked almost like a dragon burst out, making the attacks look like a vibrant, constantly moving and out of control wave of pure white lightning, water, air and fire.
Wanda increased the output from the Crystal of Cepheus, very aware of the fact that the Crystal seemed to be humming with a high pitch, trembling in her hands as it was giving everything it had to fend off the quadruple attacks. She blinked as she saw Cerella walking forward to join the group.
Cerella summoned what looked like a pillar of hard granite rock out of the ground beneath her feet, before sending it right at Wanda.
"Earth!" She shouted.
A crack formed in the Crystal of Cepheus suddenly, once all five of the Guardians had combined their powers in to one attack and sent it at her. But Wanda did not budge even as the pillar of rock came at her. The protective shield formed around her in an instant, right before the pillar reached her.
HuiLing heard it rather than saw it. She was surprised that all the power had overloaded the Crystal. But certainly not angry.
"Now tell us!" She called out over the roar of all the power that was surging through them. "Who are you angry at and why?"
Surprisingly, this time Wanda looked up at the question. There was something of recognition in her eyes finally. But instead of glaring at HuiLing, she turned to her parents.
"You!" She roared back at Shegon and Will. "All those years you never told me anything about your past lives. I only found out when you were kidnapped by Cedric!" She shouted at them as the scrambled assortment of memories came flooding back, breaking through the barrier of whatever had been keeping them locked up for so long. "I never wanted anything to do with the supernatural world, but I had no choice did I? No warning. It just happened. You knew all along...But you never told me a thing!"
"Wanda...please...!" Will actually had tears in her eyes. Her daughter's words had cut her straight to the heart. "I'm not proud of it... I'm not!" She added hastily at the look on Wanda's face. "I just wanted you to live a normal, peaceful life. Not the life that I had led. I never thought that Phobos would try and break out a third time for revenge. Not even Queen Elyon could have foreseen that... But that doesn't mean I didn't care-"
"Didn't care enough about me to want to tell me, did you?" Snarled Wanda as she put another burst of power through the Crystal. The crack grew larger. "I was thrown in to your world without so much as an explanation from your pasts!"
An explosion came from the Crystal, and the combined attacks from HuiLing, Mimiru, Ingrid, Tress and Cerella finally broke through. The force of the blow sent Wanda flying backwards against a wall.
"Wanda!" Will came running over as her daughter fell to her knees after the collision.
"S-Stay back." Snarled Wanda, and Will froze. "I never even had a choice what path to follow." She said finally.
"How can you say that?" HuiLing said in spite of herself.
"I was captured by Phobos... I know that now..." Wanda was holding the side of her head. There was still a strong part of her that wanted to hold on to Phobos' orders, hold on to the part that wanted to follow orders rather than be the one giving them. Her body was wanting to attack, the control that Rhea's poison held on her was still strong.
"I can say it because I can." Wanda replied. "I want the truth... You..." She looked up at them. Her will to know the truth about everything overpowering the control the poison had on her body.
"We have a way..." Derek spoke up. "Here." He held up the bottle containing the liquid Wanda recognized as the juices that came from the Moonflower Lilly. "I'm not going to force you to drink it though, if you don't really want to."
"No!" Came Cedric's voice. He had appeared through a portal quite suddenly as she had. "Lady Wanda, you must not drink that bile."
"Why?" Blinked Wanda.
"You will not like what it will do to you. It will bring you even more pain then your so-called family and friends have." Cedric glared at Derek, who was mere feet from her.
"But-" Wanda looked back at the group.
"It's up to you and no one else, Wanda..." Shegon said, standing beside Derek. At least with his mask, Matt was able to hide the pain that had been caused by Wanda's anger that she'd so obviously repressed. Anger that had been directed at her own parents because of what happened.
"Don't do it!" Cedric cried out, transforming in to his giant lizard form in a blink of an eye.
This more than anything fueled the desire to learn the truth. She stood up, reaching for the bottle as Derek handed it to her after seeing the look in her eyes as Cedric made a wild dive towards her. Shegon got in between Cedric and his target, shooting a giant blast of energy right at the lizard's chest.
"I've been wanting to do that for years." He commented as Cedric went flying backwards with the force behind that attack.
Wanda blinked when Shegon attacked Cedric in that abrupt manner without any remorse. In fact, it was the exact opposite. She shook her head though, considering that Shegon probably thought he was protecting her somehow. She unstoppered the bottle before draining it in one gulp.
It happened in an instant. What felt like ice went down her throat, then her body felt like a thousand needles was going through her veins rather forcefully. She dropped the cracked Crystal of Cepheus, then fell forward, holding on to her head with both hands now as Derek ran forward, making sure she didn't hit the floor when she fell. She fell in to darkness, nothingness moments later.
Will bent down, her hazel eyes wide with worry, and Shegon knelt as well, now ignoring Cedric who was struggling to recover from the latest blow. Derek rolled the apparently unconscious Wanda on to her back, and was surprised at how pale she looked now.
"Wanda?" Shegon said as he transformed back in to Matt, kneeling over his daughter.
"That Crystal...!" HuiLing exclaimed, and they turned to see the Crystal of Cepheus glowing a bright white light from its spot on the floor. It was as though there was a chemical reaction gone wrong inside that crystal with how it was reacting to being parted from Wanda at last. They saw the transformation of the stone like a Solar Eclipse, fading rapidly from violet to pure white. The crack repaired itself with a flash of silver light, like some invisible finger had put white out over it before that effect faded entirely.
"Wanda?" HuiLing bent down near her friend in between the parents.
A flash of crimson light engulfed Wanda's body, and when it faded, she was wearing her civilian clothes. A few moments of tense silence followed, then finally she opened her eyes. The first person she saw was Derek, staring down at her with an expression that was a combination of relief and joy. Slowly, her eyes turned to the left. She saw her father, HuiLing, and her mother all kneeling around her. Beyond them were Ingrid, Cerella, Tress and Mimiru. All of them wore similar expressions on their faces.
"Mom? Dad?" She blinked. Next thing she knew, her mother had flung her arms around her in a tight hug. "OUCH! Mom... You're strangling me!" She exclaimed.
"Give her a chance to breathe, Will." Smiled Matt, placing a hand on his wife's shoulder, pulling her from her daughter gently.
"How do you feel, sweetie?" Asked Will once she had regained control of herself.
Wanda sat up with Derek's help as she thought about this question.
"Confused..." She thought about what happened. She remembered what happened in black blurs and confused fogs. She vaguely saw herself fighting HuiLing over what looked like an oasis somewhere in Hawaii, farther back she could see another fight where HuiLing was begging with her again to stop delving in to the path she had been forced in to by Phobos. She shook her head. She didn't want to think about all of that just now. She felt tired, exhausted and confused.
She looked around just in time to see Cedric vanishing through a portal looking enraged at the turn of events.
"Wanda..." HuiLing brought forth the Heart of Kandrikar. "I'm not going to make you or anything... I can understand if you don't want to be a Guardian anymore. But... We would like to have you back in the team." She said tentatively with a small smile. "This time it's your choice."
"So what do you say?" Ingrid was smiling as well.
Wanda looked at each of her friends, and her parents. There was a big difference from being thrown in to something, than having the choice of opting out. If it had been five months ago, she would have chosen the latter in a heartbeat. But after seeing and knowing what her friends had done to get her back, she knew it would be poor service to just walk away. Even though that was what a small part of her felt like doing, the larger part however was telling her to take the Heart of Kandrikar that was being offered to her.
Finally she decided to reach out and take the Heart of Kandrikar.
"You mean it?" HuiLing asked. "We can really go back to being W.I.T.C.H. again?"
Wanda was still quiet, but she nodded.
"If that is really your decision, then we must hurry to the orb chamber." The Oracle stated, having come out once he was certain things were calm again. "No doubt Phobos will send someone to attack again very soon."
Wanda stood up with help from Derek, then followed the Oracle as he moved through the castle. HuiLing and the others followed suit, and they were all in the room. She didn't notice Tress grabbing the Crystal of Cepheus as they went inside the walls.
"To return the power back to you, Wanda... all you have to do is call out the phrase." Explained Halinor with a smile.
Wanda nodded, holding up the Heart of Kandrikar, which felt warm and pleasant to her hand.
"Guardians Unite!" She called out.
Mimiru, HuiLing and Wanda were all engulfed by orbs of light that came from the rotating spheres in the center of the room. When the three emerged, Mimiru was wearing civilian clothes- a white baggy sweater, blue jeans, and black shoes. HuiLing was back in her original Guardian outfit, as well as Wanda- who was still quiet.
"Great to have you back!" Ingrid said cheerfully.
"Thanks." Wanda's muscles worked as though they'd gotten stiff over the last several days, like they'd forgotten how to smile. "Guys... I'm sorry..." She said, looking at the ground.
"Huh?" Blinked Cerella at the sudden apology.
"About all that I did and said." Muttered Wanda.
"Don't worry about it... you were under Phobos' spells and stuff. It wasn't really you who was doing all of that anyways." Ingrid waved her hand as though she were batting away a fly.
Wanda looked away for a moment. She could never tell Ingrid how much those words meant to her.
"Seriously, though. Next time you have a problem, talk to us about it. We're friends, that's what we're there for." HuiLing stated in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.
Something about these words struck Wanda in a way that made her feel that it should have been obvious before now. She ran over and wrapped HuiLing in a hug.
"Wanda?" Blinked HuiLing in surprise. She'd never seen Wanda as being the hugging type in the past.
"Thank you... for not giving up on me." Wanda said. She then went to the next person who reassured her- Ingrid- and hugged her too.
"Ok, ok... let's forgo farther embarrassment and just have a group hug to be done with it?" Cerella suggested. The girls came together in what looked like a multicolored six person hug with Wanda being in the center.
