Yay another review! Thanks to Invader Spyder for that. Now let's move on with the story…I think it's time we get to a fight-scene, don't you? Alright then…Chapter 3 comin' at ya!
Chapter 3
The Guardians emerged into a sweltering hot desert, rocks and sand everywhere the eye could see. Irma looked around at the vast nothingness of the dunes.
"Wow, it's like, nine-hundred shades of brown." She quipped.
"No it isn't silly," Hay Lin corrected her, "there's some yellow mixed in too."
Irma raised an eyebrow at her always-cheerful friend, "Leave it to you to correct my oh so misguided color palette."
Cornelia was already wiping moisture off of her forehead. "We can't have a battle here," she whined, "I'll get all sticky and gross!"
"Not to mention it's hot enough to melt everyone here but Taranee!" Irma zinged.
"Alright guys, it's time to get to work." Will was definitely in Leader-Mode. The other four Guardians immediately fell silent and listened for their fearless leader's instructions. "Spread out and stay alert; Taranee's pretty sure the Knights are here somewhere and we don't wanna walk into an ambush."
"Right!" four voices acknowledged Will's orders.
Before they could separate, however, a huge mass of sand suddenly rose up in front of them! No, not just a formless mass of sand, more like a walking…
"Sandpit!" Taranee yelled, pointing frantically at the humanoid-sandmass.
"Scatter!" Will yelled, but it was too late. Sandpit thrust his arms out to his sides and began to spin. Faster and faster he spun until he had formed himself into a giant whirlwind. He immediately engulfed the Guardians, spinning them around and around in his deadly "coils."
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH! Will, there's too much centrifugal force!" Taranee had to shout to be heard above the noise of the "gale." "I can't move!"
Taranee was right; the G-forces of the sandy whirlwind had the Guardians pinned, effectively immobilizing them all. Will felt certain her head would tear itself away from her shoulders any second.
Suddenly, Sandpit re-formed one of his hands. He reached into his coils and snatched Irma. He tossed her away from the others and then allowed his hand to rejoin the swirling mass of sand.
AAAHHHH!" the Water Guardian screamed; but her cry of surprise went unheard by her friends, so great was the noise of the whirlwind. She landed about thirty feet away on the hard ground. Rolling with the fall, she bounced up, ready to defend herself. Dizzily she took a quick glance around…nobody else here but Sandpit. Irma wasn't going to question her good luck while her friends were in danger. She rose into the air and focused on the swiftly swirling sand.
"Hey buddy, that's no way to treat a lady!" she shouted. "Here's mud in your eye!"
She thrust both palms toward the creature. She could feel her magic coursing through her body; any second now it would reach her hands and blast that walking sand into harmless mud. But just before the water magic reached her hands, Irma was blindsided by something heavy.
"Oof," she grunted as she hit the ground, hard. She twisted her head sideways to see what the heavy something was. Sniffer had her pinned to the ground and was snarling into her face.
"Whoa, pal…you seriously need a mint; but maybe we can settle for a bath instead." Irma finagled her hand free and blasted the pooch. He flew back a good twenty feet, freeing the Water Guardian. Irma scrambled back to her feet and turned to check on her friends…
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Cornelia had had just about enough of this! Her hairdo was ruined and she had no idea how she was going to get all the sand out from under her fingernails. She wracked her brain for something she could do to stop this madness. Unfortunately, nothing came to mind.
"Will!" she shouted, "Anytime you're ready to come up with a brilliant plan…!"
"Ooooooooh, I'd like to get off now please, Mr. Conductor; I think I'm gonna be sick!" Taranee wailed.
Will was fighting not to pass out; she had to do something! Then it hit her. "Hay Lin, blow this sucker away!"
"I'm on it chief!" Hay Lin yelled. Maybe it was her connection to the air or the fact that she was the official Queen of the Coaster at Titan Park, Heatherfield's local amusement park. Whatever the reason, Hay Lin wasn't as adversely affected by the whirling sand as her friends. She rolled to the side then shot straight up; in seconds she had cleared the freaky sandstorm. She raised both arms straight above her head then dropped them quickly, pointing at the sandstorm.
"Air!" she shouted, and released a tornado of her own. It flew straight and true, smashing into the sandstorm with terrific force. Hay Lin directed her tornado to swirl in the opposite direction of the sandstorm. The sand was unable to resist the greater opposing force of Hay Lin's whirlwind. Gradually, the sandstorm lost its integrity and was blown into a billion harmless grains of sand. Now Hay Lin's friends were caught in her own whirlwind. Hay Lin gradually slowed the wind, and gently deposited the Guardians on the ground.
"Oh yeah! Go me, go me, go me…" Hay Lin sang, swiveling her hips in a sort of victory celebration. She landed next to her friends and reached down to help Taranee off the ground.
"Oh man," the Fire Guardian groaned, "I swallowed enough sand to make a beach in my stomach." She declined Hay Lin's offer of help and rolled onto her side, clutching her queasy stomach.
Hay Lin looked around at her other friends. She had to admit, they all looked pretty green. Then she noticed something odd…Irma was missing.
"Hey guys, where's….AAHHHH!"
Hay Lin's question was interrupted by a blast of very sticky webbing. It hit the Air Guardian and knocked her back ten feet. She struggled to free herself, but she was pinned solidly to the ground. Worse, Miranda was busily piling on the webbing; all but ensuring Hay Lin would remain a prisoner indefinitely.
"Help!" Hay Lin screamed. "It's Miranda!"
"Hay Lin! Hang on, I'm coming!" Cornelia struggled to her feet and immediately fell back to the ground. The world was still spinning and she found it impossible to stand right at the moment. Undaunted, she began crawling toward her asian friend.
Taranee had also heard Hay Lin's cry for help. She rolled to a sitting position and stared in the direction of the cry. She spotted Miranda gleefully cocooning Hay Lin. No, actually there were about five Miranda's all spinning around each other. With a groan, Taranee clutched the sides of her head. "Hold still," she muttered. She extended her right fist and aimed at what she hoped was Miranda. "Fire!" she cried and let loose with a fireball. It missed by a mile. Taranee gritted her teeth and kept trying.
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Will lay on her back, wondering if her head was still attached to her shoulders. She closed her eyes and willed the world to stop spinning so fast. With an effort, she forced her stomach to keep its contents inside…nobody wanted to see what she had eaten for lunch that day. From somewhere far away, she heard a distant yelp. Then she thought she heard a "whoosh," like the sound of fire. Wait a second, yelp, "whoosh," fire…Her friends! Those sounds couldn't be far away, they had to be right here. Will opened her eyes and slowly sat up. Taranee was throwing fireballs at a seemingly random target or targets; Cornelia was crawling on the ground like a slinky towards…
"Hay Lin!" Will suddenly spotted her friend's predicament. She had just risen shakily to her feet when she was slammed right back down onto her back.
"Ughn…" she grunted, as the now reformed Sandpit smashed his fist into her chest. Quickly, he began to bury her. Will coughed as she swallowed yet more sand. She tried to break free, but the sand was already too heavy. She sputtered and choked as she struggled to breathe. No, she thought, panic overwhelming her, I'm being buried alive!
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Irma watched as Sandpit continued to spin her friends around. She reached out her hand again to summon her magic.
"Here's mud in your eye………part two!" she yelled as she prepared to release a jet of water. Just then she saw Hay Lin release from the sandstorm and rise into the air. Irma dropped her hand and watched as her best friend owned Sandpit. Right on, she thought. So what if a perfectly good "here's-mud-in-your-eye" line was wasted? I'm just happy Hay Lin trounced the walking desert.
"You go girl!" Irma cheered, pumping her fist into the air. Her celebration was interrupted by a sudden pain in her back. As if in slow motion, Irma's knees bent and her back arched; she held that position for a few seconds before falling to her knees.
"AAII," she grunted, finally allowing her knees to hit the ground. She then fell forward onto her hands, gritting her teeth against the pain. She looked back over her shoulder to see what had happened. It didn't take long for her to figure out that Raythor had hit her in the back with the flat of his very heavy sword. It wouldn't cut her, but it would sure leave one nasty bruise in the morning.
Raythor slipped the point of his sword underneath Irma's chin. "You're coming with us Guardian, whether you like it or not."
"Sorry tough guy," Irma answered, "But I've already got a geeky, over-possessive boyfriend." With that, Irma shifted her weight to her left side and kicked backward with her right leg. Raythor grunted as Irma's foot made contact with his crotch. Irma dropped flat onto her stomach and rolled quickly onto her back. Clasping both hands together, her fingers forming a "gun," she blasted the former palace guard with a heavy jet of water. Raythor flew a good fifty feet away, howling in rage the whole time.
"Bon voyage mon sewer!" Irma giggled at her use of two different languages…not to mention her outright abuse of one.
A flash of movement to her left sent Irma soaring into the air. Good thing too, because Frost and Crimson had just landed right where she had been a moment before.
"Too slow Frosty," Irma taunted from above. "Maybe you should lay off the fried chicken a little, eh?"
Suddenly Irma felt her chest constrict. Looking down she saw a huge glowing ball-and-chain wrapped around her torso, pinning her arms to her sides. Tracker she thought miserably, struggling to free herself. Tracker pulled on the chain, slamming the Water Guardian into the ground. He pulled on the chain again, raising her back up into the air before he slammed her back down again…and again…and again. His grin of pleasure suddenly turned to open-mouthed shock as a huge geyser erupted beneath him. He was driven twenty feet into the air, losing hold of his ball-and-chain.
Without Tracker to cinch it around her body, Irma managed to struggle free. She let the weapon fall to the ground fifteen feet below. She glanced at Tracker; her geyser was gleefully bouncing him up and down about five feet above her. Ground water, Irma thought, you just have to love it. Once again she turned to her friends.
"Ughn!" she grunted, snaking her right hand across to her left side to support her injured and aching ribs. Sometimes, she thought, I just hate my job. But she immediately drove all complaints from her mind when she spied Will's predicament. Sandpit was busily burying her leader alive! Oh no you don't, she said to herself, raising her arms. She was just about to let fly when she was suddenly buried by hundreds of flying bat-thingys.
"What the heck!" she cried aloud. Tracker…it has to be. Even though he was bouncing helplessly on a column of water, he was still able to open his coat and release his minions. Irma had forgotten about that cute little trick, and now it may cost Will her life. The bats glommed onto the Water Guardian, their weight gradually pulling her down to the ground. She struggled to get loose, but to no avail.
"C'mon guys; I like to be the center of attention, but this is a little much!"She hit the ground and was pushed onto her stomach by the sheer weight of Tracker's minions. Irma knew if she didn't do something quick she would be suffocated or crushed…not to mention this wasn't helping her aching ribs in the slightest. She reached out with her mind, seeking the ground water she had used on Tracker earlier. She found some more near her current position. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on bringing the water to the surface. The ground began to rumble as the water strained to break through the earth that held it trapped below. With a great effort, the water suddenly gushed forth, shooting straight up into the air. Irma concentrated now on the new geyser. Straining and grunting from the effort, she tried desperately to force the water sideways and then downward. She was getting tired though, and the effort to bend the water to her will threatened to utterly exhaust the young Guardian. I can't give up…Will is in danger! With a renewed effort, Irma finally forced the water to splash on top of her…and thus the bat-thingys as well. It took a few seconds for the force of the water to drive all the bats away, but Irma was finally free. She pulled herself out of the water's "kill-zone" with her arms and collapsed on the ground. It had been harder than she thought to bring ground water to the surface, and she had misjudged the amount of effort that would be involved. Consequently, she felt like she had been running non-stop for the last six weeks! She was breathing hard as she raised her head to check on Will. Sandpit was still pouring on the sand. Irma gasped, partly because of her leader's plight, and partly due to the stabbing pain in her ribs. Shakily, she raised her right hand toward Sandpit.
"W-water," she gasped. A powerful jet of water shot from Irma's outstretched hand and flowed over Will's sandy tomb, effectively washing the sand away. The effort to maintain the cleansing jet of water threatened to overwhelm Irma; she groaned, but she kept it up. She had to unbury Will! After what seemed like days, Irma finally spotted a flash of red in the sand. That flash was followed by pink, then turquoise, then purple as the form of Will Vandom emerged from the sand. Irma grinned shakily as she saw Will cough and roll over onto her stomach. Good, she's going to be okay.
A low rumbling in the earth caused Irma to glance to her left. Frost and Crimson were charging her down! Too exhausted to move, Irma closed her eyes and tried to brace herself for a wicked trampling. She was surprised when Crimson slid to a halt right next to her. Nervously, she opened one eye. Frost grinned down at her as Crimson shoved his nose-horn under Irma. With a great thrust of his head, he threw the Water Guardian high into the air.
"AAHHHHHH!" Irma screamed. Sheer adrenaline allowed her to catch herself with her wings before she could fall back to earth. I gotta get outta here, she thought and started to move toward the protection of the other Guardians. Suddenly she was slammed back to the earth. She smashed into the ground face-first and spread-eagled. Her head began to swim from the force of the impact. Irma's breath was driven from her lungs, and all her limbs went temporarily numb. She felt herself being lifted back into the air and smashed down again. Irma could feel the blackness coming on…she needed help. She couldn't scream…her breath had not yet returned. Wait a minute…Taranee! Fixing her gaze on Taranee, Irma's mind screamed for help. She felt herself lifted again, and smashed down again. She lifted herself on her arms, trying to get up, but her elbows refused to lock. Shaking all over, she raised her head and locked her gaze with Taranee's. H-h-help m-me…she silently pleaded. Then her eyes rolled to the back of her head and darkness descended. Exhausted and badly injured, Irma finally collapsed and lay still.
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"Hang on Hay Lin, I'm coming!" Cornelia crawled to Hay Lin's side. Miranda had already wrapped her friend in a web-like cocoon. Totally gross, Cornelia thought. But no way was she going to let that…thing make an egg roll out of Hay Lin! She was still dizzy from the Sandpit roller coater and her lunch was threatening to make an encore appearance. Nevertheless, Cornelia reached Hay Lin and turned her attention to Miranda. She could see Taranee's fireballs flying haphazardly around the pseudo-spider. Cornelia thought she knew why; if her world was spinning this much, Taranee must be feeling it too. By the looks of things, Taranee wasn't going to hit Miranda any time soon, and Cornelia doubted she would do much better under the circumstances. Better go for a wide-range effect, Cornelia decided. Raising her hands, palms up, she commanded a great flurry of rocks and boulders to strike Miranda's general location. Miranda squawked and raced for her life. Unfortunately for her, she ran right into one of Taranee's misguided fireballs. Singed and angry, Miranda ran away from the Guardians. Sandpit could handle the diversion from now on.
Cornelia grinned. "Nice shot Taranee!" she called. "Now come here and see if you can free Hay Lin!"
Still unaware of Will's plight, Taranee stumbled over to Hay Lin and Cornelia. Hay Lin was squirming uncomfortably against her bindings. "Hurry up you guys," she moaned. "My wings are getting all smashed and wrinkled…and they're not exactly permanent press."
Taranee extended her right arm and summoned her element. In just a few minutes, she had burned away all the webbing imprisoning Hay Lin.
"There you go Hay Lin. Now where did Will get to? She was right behind m…What?" Taranee jumped a foot in the air as she heard a voice scream for help inside her head. "Taranee…help!" it screamed. It sounded familiar, but Taranee was still a bit disoriented from Sandpit's attack, and couldn't quite place it. She looked around, confused.
"What's up?" Cornelia asked. She of course had not heard the desperate plea.
"Someone needs help," Taranee explained, still swiveling her head all around. "I heard it in my mind, but I can't quite figure out who it was."
"Oh look!" Hay Lin cried pointing. "There's Will; looks like Irma just gave her a bath," she giggled.
Irma! That's who it was! Taranee suddenly noticed that she hadn't seen the Water Guardian since Sandpit had attacked them!
"Um, guys, have either of you seen Irma? Since Sandpit I mean…?" Cornelia and Hay Lin didn't have to answer; Taranee could see their responses on their confused and worried faces.
Still looking all alround, Taranee suddenly spied the Water Guardian about thirty feet away. She was surrounded by Raythor, Frost, Sniffer, Crimson and, gulp, Gargoyle! Tracker was bouncing on top of a rather impressive geyser, but that was beginning to lose strength. Taranee watched in horror as Crimson threw Irma high into the air. Taranee screamed as Gargoyle smashed his club-like fist into Irma's back, sending her crashing to the ground. She hit so hard Taranee was sure she felt the ground shake. Irma tried to raise herself up, but even from this distance Taranee could see she was shaking so badly it was impossible. She locked eyes with her watery friend, the pain and exhaustion clearly evident on Irma's face. "H-h-help m-me…" Irma mentally pleaded with Taranee once more before she collapsed. The geyser under Tracker died at exactly the same moment. The Knights of Vengeance closed in around Irma, and Raythor lifted the unconscious Guardian to his shoulder.
"NO!" Taranee screamed, sprinting as best she could towards her fallen friend. Miranda spit some webbing at the Fire Guardian, pinning her to the ground.
"Will!" Taranee screamed. Will, on her hands and knees and "enjoying" her latest coughing fit, turned her head towards Taranee. She squinted into the sun as Taranee frantically pointed. Will's gaze turned to follow her friend's finger. No…no, no, no, no, NO!
She rose into the air and threw a lethal bolt of lightning at the retreating Knights. The resulting explosion sent Tracker reeling and knocked Frost right off of Crimson. Will flew as fast as she could; no way was she going to let them have Irma…She was vaguely aware of the other Guardians not far behind her; they were throwing their own attacks at the Knights. Faster, faster Will pleaded with herself.
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Raythor hefted the mouthy Guardian over his shoulder. "Move out…we have what we came for!" he shouted to the other Knights.
He fled back towards the rendezvous point, his fellow Knights hot on his heels. He heard one of the Guardians shout a warning. Damn, we've been discovered!
"Miranda, guard our escape!" Raythor barked to the hairy creature at his side. Miranda stopped, turned, and webbed the Fire Guardian. Laughing with delight, she resumed her retreat.
They were almost there, just a little further. An explosion from behind rocked the fleeing Knights. Tracker fell to the earth and rolled several times. Frost fell from Crimson's back, hitting the ground hard. Raythor did not stop; he had a more important duty at the moment. The Guardian over his shoulder was still unconscious, her dead-weight slowing him down. He panted as he forced his legs to move faster. More explosions behind him…the Guardians were gaining on him!
In the distance, Raythor finally saw it…the rendezvous point. Just a little more…just a little more. He stopped then, and pulled a dull green jewel from his belt. He held it to the sunlight. The jewel began to sparkle, and vivid green light began to emanate from it's tip. In seconds, a fold appeared in the air before him. He turned, suddenly realizing he couldn't let any of his teammates be captured by the Guardians; what if they told the brats where Nerissa was hiding? He dropped the unconscious Guardian unceremoniously to the ground. He moved toward the battle and again raised the jewel. Its vivid green light now struck out at Raythor's enemies, throwing them about like rag dolls. Good thing I'm near the rendezvous point, he thought, otherwise this little beauty wouldn't work.
"Come on…move!" Raythor shouted. "Before the Guardians recover!"
The Knights picked themselves up and raced for the fold Raythor had opened earlier. Tracker leaped through, followed closely by Sniffer, Frost, and Crimson. Miranda was next, then Sandpit. Finally, the gigantic Gargoyle lumbered through the fold. Raythor placed the jewel back on his belt, as the Guardians started to recover.
"So long Guardians…it's been a pleasure," he muttered. Turning his back on his enemies, he gathered the Water Guardian like a sack of potatoes. Sneering over his shoulder one last time, he leaped through the fold and was gone.
Will was the first to land at the spot where the fold had just been. She stared in horror at the empty space around her. Irma saved my life, she thought to herself, how could I have let the Knights of Vengeance take her? How could I have not seen or noticed…She fell on her knees and buried her face in her hands. As quiet sobs wracked her body, the other Guardians landed beside their leader.
Taranee placed a comforting hand on Will's shoulder. "It wasn't your fault, Will. We couldn't have known…"
"It's my job to know!" Will snapped. "It's my job to analyze their attacks and see a pattern! It's my job to…to…" she couldn't continue, and she buried her face in her hands again.
The others just let her cry for a few minutes. Presently, Will raised her head. "Irma saved my life back there," the other Guardians had to lean forward to hear Will's horrified whispers. "She was being completely overwhelmed and still she thought of someone other than herself. If she hadn't, I would be…" Will let the rest of the sentence hang unfinished.
Will continued in the same horrified whisper. "She's my teammate, she's my friend…How could I have let…how could…how could…"
"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Suddenly Will raised her eyes and fists to the heavens and let out a scream of rage that echoed painfully around the desert.
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Raythor entered into Nerissa's presence, carrying the Water Guardian like a sleeping baby. He waited respectfully to be acknowledged. Presently, Nerissa opened her eyes.
"Well?" she asked.
"Mistress…the Water Guardian, as you ordered."
Nerissa rose to her feet and walked swiftly over to Raythor. She stroked Irma's cheek with her dry, wrinkled hand. Her lips broke into a pleased, evil smile.
"Excellent Raythor…you know what to do with her!"
O dear, poor Irma…looks like her day is about to get a lot worse. If you should feel so inclined, hit that lovely little "Go" button and tell me what you think. Thanks to everyone who took the time to read this REALLY LONG CHAPTER! Cheers!