(During Issue 3: WITCH tests their powers)
After these last two days, Nigel investigated Mrs. Rudolph aka Galgheita. He then reported to Eric to what she's up to and what the Guardians are up to. Yesterday, he followed them to an abandoned lot where a building that once stood. They used its debris to train their powers. He also assessed and recognized their abilities, such as the combined powers of Irma's water and Cornelia's Earth powers that can create a gushing of water to the sky like an uncontrollable oil well!
(Issue 3: Irma and Hay Lin investigates Miss Rudolph's home)
"This is Mrs. Rudolph's home?" Nigel says as he walks around the bricked fence as he investigates the Victorian style mansion made of bricked walls and blue tiles. It is also houses one of the portals. "If I could go back in time, not only should I have investigated about the portal from the outside, but also, like a thief, the insides of the house as well."
Then he hides to a nearby tree as he sees Miss Rudolph as she carries two large grocery plastic bags and approaches her home. She places one of the plastic bags on the ground as she enters the gate and goes in to her house. "She must be out for the groceries a while ago."
After a few minutes of thinking and leaning on to the nearby tree for a plan, he comes up a strange yet an effective idea. He walks across the street from her house and finds a medium sized stone he sees fit. Once he founds a good stone that suits him: coarse and rough, he fits to his hand and weighs like a baseball. He phases backward with a few steps and looks around for any incoming people. His hand angles with the stone above his hand, targets it to one her windows at the second floor and launches the stone in a long trajectory. The stone breaks through the glass of the second floor as the windows glass shatters to pieces.
'Hope this works!' Nigel says to himself as he dashes into the gate and to the entry door of Galgheita's home. Knocking wildly, he yells. "Hello is anybody there, or anyone hurt?!"
A few yet long seconds later, the door opens with Miss Rudolph behind the door asks "Y-yes? Mr. Nigel Ashcroft?!" She pants heavily
"Miss Rudolph!" he fraudulently reacts. "What a pleasant surprise!" he grins. 'That's strange she looks very tired and Eric was right! I couldn't feel a sense out of her.'
"The 'accident' you made upstairs, was that yours?!" she scolds.
"Yes, I'm sorry." Nigel apologizes. "It was actually my friend Uriah who threw it. Not only have I come to apologize on his behalf, but I would like to clean the mess he had made." He lies.
"No, I think your apologize is—" She praises him yet stops when Nigel forces his way into the house.
"Nonsense! I think it's my duty to clear the things my friend has made!" he bravely walks in. "Say, if I could borrow your dustpan and broom, I think that would be a start." He says happily. 'Flames! If I could act as kind as Eric, this could have been easy for me!'
"Y-Your too kind, Mr. Ashcroft." She compliments. She goes into the Living room and enters to what it seems like, a storage room. "Follow me." She says as they go upstairs to her light-yellow painted room. The stone was found by the window together with the shattered around the area "Looks like you got to do a lot work Mr. Ashcroft, are you sure about this? And do you need any help?" as she gives the dustpan and the broom to him.
"No, think I got this; just rest Miss Rudolph" Nigel gives thumbs up. 'Looks like I've got to do this mess first before I investigate!'
"Oh how kind of you! I wished you could set up an example to Uriah and his friends." She says, well then I leave this matter to you, see you in a while!" she then leaves the room.
As she closes the door behind her, Nigel starts to clean the glass and observe his surroundings. On the side of the wall are a series of different frames and pictures in it. He glances to each of them. Most pictures are her advisory class pictures, self-portraits and one particular photo his eye catches on: an old and small picture of her younger self with a younger Thomas and Eleanor Brown. 'Alborn and Miriadel'
As Nigel cleans the mess he has made, he thinks about the picture he saw. The picture proves that Galgheita is indeed an ally and can worth be worth trusted. "It seems like my mess has proven its worth after all!" he whispers in silence. "Guess have to report it to Eric."
After a half-hour of cleaning the room, he goes down the stairs and sees Miss Rudolph as she sits on one of the lounges of the large living room "How could I pay for the damages?" he asks.
"I think your cleaning is worth enough. Thank you!" She thanks.
Nigel quickly approaches to the storage room to store the cleaning equipment back to its proper place. He then pauses as he holds its door knob as he suddenly feels another strange magical sensation behind that door. 'What is this? I sense something peculiar and familiar about this! It can't be—I sense at least two Guardians inside!'
"Wait!" she suddenly and frantically halts.
Nigel, by a confusing surprise, releases the door knob and turns to her by her demand. He looks Galgheita with fear written on her eyes. As the time got quicker than ever, he comes up with a dangerous and cocky plan
"Let me take that" She stands up and approaches him. As she takes the broom and the dustpan, a strange object falls off accidentally from Nigel's hand. She sees it and reacts quickly with widen eyes and a gasp as she lets go of the cleaning equipment. The object was a Meridianite bracelet; the same bracelet he used to experiment Elyon.
Nigel quickly and sternly looks at her and places his pointer on his lips as his thumb points to the storage room with a silence gesture. 'Keep quiet. 'We' don't want to be heard' his gestures say.
Miss Rudolph, now frantically panicking, yet whispers in reply. "W-Who are you?" she stutters.
"Yet I know who you are, Galgheita." Nigel replies as his Incinerated Staff materializes and points at her "Is there someone behind the storage room of yours?"
"I don't know how you have known this, but I don't have choice, but to silence those girls because they saw my galhot form." she replies as she grits her teeth bravely "I don't really know who you are but I know now that you are a spy for Phobos, Mr. Nigel, but I won't surrender or say anything about the resistance and you can't make me do it."
"Huh?" Nigel asks in confusion "And why would I fight for Phobos? I think you are. You have just captured two Guardians of the Veil inside."
"I—what?" She suddenly says in more bewilderment.
Suddenly, the door alarm rings, and they both look at each other in surprise. Miss Rudolph quickly goes to the entry door as Nigel, who has revealed too much of his identity, now hides behind the curtains.
"Hello, Will!" Miss Rudolph says as she opens the door for her. "Come in my friend."
'Oh flames! It's the Keeper of the Heart!' Nigel swears as he could not do anything to warn her as he just peeks and witness the situation from the curtain.
Suddenly the door to the storage room swings open and gives a loud bump. "Look out, Will! It's a trap!" Irma, who is tied up from the ropes, used her feet to push the door.
Will turns to Miss Rudolph "Miss Rudolph! W-What does this mean?"
Miss Rudolph having to realized that she actually tied up the Guardians of the Veil themselves, stutters in regret. "I—I can explain everything Will."
"Don't listen to her Will! She's a monster from Metaworld!" Irma yells as Will places her hand to her head; aching at the pain of her head.
"Will—"She tries to approach Will yet Miss Rudolph is cut off when Will raises her hands activates her glowing pink force field.
"Don't come any closer!" she yells.
"Quickly, Will! Open the ropes!" Irma says as Will unties the ropes around her and she also does it on Hay Lin, who was also tied up and silenced by a white handkerchief around her mouth, as well.
"You protect the Heart of Kandrakar. You are the new Guardians." She tries to explain to them.
"Where is real Miss Rudolph?" Will asks as Irma and Hay Lin stands behind her back.
"But girls don't be afraid of me" Miss Rudolph says as she tries to calm them down. She transforms suddenly to a large and brown Galhot with large brown strands of hair with green striped spots of her skin at the back. "This is what I look like! But you don't have to be afraid of me. I won't hurt you."
"Woah!" The girls gasp in confusion and fear, yet amidst of the confusion, they refuse to believe and listen to what she said. "Believe it already Will! That creature teaches us Math!"
"Why can't you understand? I'm not what you look like. You…You..." She then runs up the stairs. "You have ruined everything!"
"Quickly! We can't let her escape!" Irma chases her, together with Hay Lin and Will. The fast clopping of steps begins to fade as they reach the next floors. From the distant floors, Nigel hears the echoes of yells and shouts.
Nigel checks around the area, 'Need to get out of here! Coast is clear!' He says as he cautiously runs and escapes from Galgheita's home without turning and looking back.
After a few meters away from her home he pants and rests. He then takes his phone and contacts Eric about the incident.
"So, what do you think?" Nigel asks after he reported to Eric on the whole incident.
"You said that Miss Rudolph's home houses one of the portals?" Eric's static voice on Nigel's phone, asks on the phone "She might have escaped to Meridian using that. The Guardians might have also closed the portal, but I could also suggest that Galgheita is captured by them before she could escape."
"Abort or continue your mission? And should we trust her on this?" Nigel asks.
"I guess, there was just only a misunderstanding. Galgheita captured and silenced her students because they saw her galhot form not knowing she just captured the two Guardians. They, from their knowledge, knew that 'aliens' of Meridianites are the enemies." Eric replies. "I think she could be trusted, as you said, she tried to risk her life than to tell any secrets to you. It's a risk, but I think Ray and I should continue on the mission without her."
"You sure? What should I do then?"
"Babysit." Eric replies.
"Hey. I'm serious." Nigel annoyingly replies.
"You're our back up and reinforcement right? If we don't come back, for the next two days, you know what that means."
