Hey thanks everyone for your reviews and Private Messages. I love interacting with all of my friends and some of you have some really good insights. Thanks to Invader Spyder, Visigoth29527, Irma 1, Irma Rokz (sup girl), Orion101, and KiiroKrazyXD (extra cookies for being the first to review Chapter 12; BTW, an Auramere is that lovely little ball of magic that is the source of a Guardian's powers. Each Guardian has their own Auramere. The Aurameres "live" in Candracar and are guarded by Luba). I hope everyone enjoyed Chapter 12. I hope you'll like Chapter 13 as well. So here we go kids!

Chapter 13

The Guardians sat around in Elyon's throne room waiting for Will to return from Candracar. Cornelia sat on the steps close to Elyon, while Taranee and Hay Lin had found a nice piece of the floor to occupy. No one said anything, preferring to be left to their own thoughts. Even so, too much silence is just that…too much. Hay Lin finally couldn't stand it anymore.

"So Corny, where did you learn CPR?"

Cornelia's eyes flashed at the name "Corny," but she decided this wasn't the proper time for a scolding. "I learned basic first aid and CPR when I became a cheerleader. My parents seemed to think it would be a good idea."

"Good thing they did…you saved Irma's life you know…" Hay Lin responded quietly.

Cornelia shook her head, "No, you and Will saved Irma's life; you by helping her breathe, Will by restarting her heart."

"Which we wouldn't have done had you not been there to take charge."

Cornelia grinned and nodded, "Thank you," she said softly.

"No, I mean it. Because of you, Irma has a chance now. I just know the Oracle will be able to help her." Hay Lin said sincerely.

Cornelia nodded again but said nothing; she didn't want to crush Hay Lin's hopes. Secretly the Earth Guardian wasn't so sure her asian friend was right. She had had too much experience with the Oracle's cryptic ways and noninterference policies to truly believe this time would be any different. Somehow it was perfectly fine for young teenage girls to risk their lives defending Earth, Meridian, and Candracar, but when it came to Candracar giving back a little...it just wasn't a two-way street. Cornelia had tried to understand the purpose of their neutrality, but she just didn't see the point. To her, the world was very much black and white; something was either wrong or right. She didn't see how all those powerful beings could just sit up there and watch everything go to hell when they had the power to intervene. It frustrated her, and for this reason she had decided she didn't fully trust the Council of Elders. Now she fully expected Will to return and tell them all that the Oracle was unable to help Irma. Unable or unwilling; to Cornelia, when it came to the Council, those two words were synonymous. But she didn't voice these thoughts aloud; she would just get reamed out for being such a pessimist. Just because she was the only one who tried to see the world for what it truly was, she was called a pessimist. Cornelia preferred to think of herself as a realist and she didn't try to hide behind some non-existent happy when things were bad. She simply accepted that things were bad and she would have to deal. Like her mother always told her, "If the world didn't suck, everyone would fall off."

Cornelia sighed and closed her eyes; she felt like she hadn't slept in a week. She leaned her head on Elyon's shoulder and tried to rest. Elyon shifted a little to offer Cornelia's head a softer "pillow." She was worried about her best friend. Being the Queen of Meridian was tough, but at least she didn't have to balance defending the universe with Algebra, "The Grapes of Wrath," and dissecting frogs. She also didn't have the pressure of keeping a secret from her loved-ones. The Guardians could never let anyone know who they were and what they did; it just wasn't safe. Elyon remembered how she had felt when she had first learned she was the rightful ruler of Meridian, and that her friends had known all along. She had felt betrayed and angry because everyone had lied to her all her life. She felt differently now, of course, but she knew how much the lies had hurt. The Guardians had felt hurt not being able to tell her, and Elyon was sure they felt the same about keeping the secret from their families. Now one of them was severely injured and might not live. How were they to explain her death to her family? For that matter, how would any of them explain it if they died defending the universe? Elyon knew the Guardians could take a beating, but there had to be bruises or other marks after many of their battles. How did they hide those all the time? She knew Cornelia was good with makeup, but even the heaviest foundation couldn't hide the deepening lines on her face. Elyon rubbed Cornelia's beautiful cheek; so much responsibility for one so young.

Just then, the air shimmered and a pink glow appeared in the room. Everyone, including Cornelia, turned their eyes to see. Presently, Will appeared in the center of that pink glow. As the glow died, Will stepped forward, ashen-faced and red eyed. Everyone jumped up and approached the Guardian Leader. Hay Lin reached her first and gazed expectantly into Will's brown eyes.

"Well? What did they say?" she asked breathlessly.

Will opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Instead she choked back a sob and pushed through her friends to sit on the steps. She buried her face in her hands and shook her head. Elyon and the Guardians looked at each other, each silently asking the same question. Taranee approached Will and laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Will? What is it? What's wrong?"

Will looked up, her eyes redder than before. She knew she was supposed to be the strong leader-type, but right now, she just needed a good cry. She also knew the others needed to know; she just hoped she would be strong enough to tell them. She took a deep breath and stood up. She placed her hand on Taranee's shoulder and nodded gratefully. Then she turned and strode back to the group, followed closely by Taranee. With another deep breath, Will began to explain.

"Irma is hurt really bad; in fact the Mage called her injuries mortal. She also said Irma's been cursed somehow, which prevents any magical healing. That's why the Heart of Candracar failed to help her. The Mage said she could counteract the curse in time, but that it would be too late to help Irma."

Will paused to gather her thoughts, and Cornelia spoke up. "So in other words they're going to do what they always do….nothing."

Hay Lin looked stricken, but Will held up her hand. "Yes, that was the initial answer they gave me. I told them it was unacceptable. That's when the Mage came up with a possible solution."

Hay Lin's eyes filled again with hope. "And?"

"She said there's this ritual called the Joining where a Guardian joins with her Auramere. The Auramere heals the Guardian and then goes back to its proper place. But there's a two-fold catch. One, the Auramere needs time to recover afterward, so the Guardian would have no powers until the Auramere fully recovers. Depending on the amount of damage, the recovery period could take a while. Two, the Auramere learns of its Guardian's injuries by exploring her memories of the event or events. Consequently the Guardian has no thoughts other than those directly relating to her injuries. No sense of time, no sense of place, nothing but the pain and suffering she experienced until the Auramere finishes its job."

Will gulped and choked back another sob. She took a moment to look into the eyes of her friends. Cornelia had obviously caught on to the punch line already and her brain was busy trying to process everything. Taranee's face was pale and she looked frightened. Elyon was covering her mouth with her hands, her eyes wide. Hay Lin was looking horror-struck and a little green. Will sighed and continued.

"There's one more thing guys………the Mage said it would take several weeks for Irma's Auramere to heal her…"

Dead silence…………everyone waited for the shock to properly sink in. They struggled to comprehend the meaning of Will's words. Will continued quietly, almost whispering.

"I had to make a decision, and I had to make it right there on the spot."

Cornelia was the first to meet her leader's troubled eyes. Will looked haunted and drained…………and much older than she had just an hour ago. Cornelia felt sympathy for Will in that moment; no one should have to make a decision like that……especially not alone.

"So what you're saying," Cornelia finally ventured, "is that you had to choose between letting Irma die and turning her into a raving madwoman with permanent psychological damage."

Will lowered her eyes and nodded. She couldn't look at their faces right now.

Taranee exhaled. "Wow," she whispered.

Hay Lin looked panicked; she grabbed Will's shoulders and shook the redhead. "What did you tell them Will?"

Will looked into Hay Lin's almond-shaped eyes and grabbed her wrists; Hay Lin stopped shaking her. Will's eyes welled up again, as she quietly answered Hay Lin. "I told them to save her life."

Hay Lin's face broke into an expression of joy. She grabbed Will and with a whoop, she spun her around. She pulled her leader into a rib-cracking hug. "Thank you Will! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Oh, thank you!" she cried.

Will coughed from the lack of oxygen and the pressure on her ribs. Hay Lin released her. Will rubbed her aching ribs and held up her hand, nodding. Hay Lin hugged her again, although much more gently. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Cornelia shake her head. Releasing Will, Hay Lin stepped around her leader and approached Cornelia.

"What was that for Corny?"

Cornelia jumped. "What? What was what for?"

"You shook your head…why?"

"I didn't shake my head Hay Lin; what are you on about?"

"Yes you did; I saw you shake your head, and I want to know why." Then it dawned on her… "You think Will made the wrong choice…" It wasn't a question.

Cornelia cocked her head and folded her arms over her chest. "No, I don't."

"Yes you do…you would've let Irma die." Hay Lin clenched her hands into fists as she felt anger begin to build.

"I would've let Irma go; there's a difference."

"The result is still the same…Irma would be dead."

"Irma would be free! Free from suffering and hate and all the other crap that comes with being a Guardian! Now she gets to relive all the horror and agony of the last few days over and over again until her mind finally cracks. Tell me how that's a good thing…"

"She'll be alive Cornelia; that's the most important thing. Irma's strong and she's happy; she'll get through this like she's gotten through everything else. She has us, and we can help her."

"Don't you get it Hay Lin? This isn't just some my-boyfriend-is-two-timing-me-with-our-math-teacher kind of a thing! What she went through was pure hell and now she gets to do it all over again for the next several weeks. Only this time, she gets to experience it in 3-D and in Dolby Digital Surround Sound! There's only so much the human mind can take; the psychological trauma will be………………..beyond catastrophic, it will be off the scale. Why would you want her to have to deal with that for the rest of her life?"

"You've always hated Irma; you've always thought she was the weak link. You've never trusted her because she seems so flip about everything. You'd rather she was dead!" Hay Lin was breathing hard and her palms were bleeding from where she had buried her fingernails.

Cornelia was taken aback; her eyes widened and she dropped her arms to her sides. Then her eyes grew steely and her lip curled angrily. She clenched her fists and raised them to chest-level. She extended her right arm and pointed a threatening finger at the Air Guardian. "You just crossed a line Hay Lin," she growled.

"You're always running her down; you never miss an opportunity to insult her or make fun of her. Well I'm tired of it Cornelia Hale, sick and tired of it!"

"Then let's have it out right here, right now!" Cornelia yelled, her hands glowing green.

"We finish this tonight!" Hay Lin began to gather her powers as well.

Will, Taranee and Elyon jumped in between the two enraged Guardians. Elyon restrained Cornelia, while Will restrained Hay Lin. Taranee stood in the middle, her arms out to her sides and her head swiveling between the two "combatants."

"Hay Lin, knock it off!" Will commanded. "You and Cornelia are friends remember? This isn't right and you know it…"

"This should have been done a long time ago!" Hay Lin shrieked.

"Cornelia, please don't." Elyon pleaded. "We're all hurting right now, but this isn't the way to solve anything."

"Let's find out how effective it is, then we'll see if it solves anything!" Cornelia shouted.

ENOUGH!

The mental shout was so overpowering that everyone stopped and clapped their hands over their ears. Everyone emitted cries of pain and grimaced in discomfort. All but Taranee….

What is happening here? We need to be pulling together, not trying to rip each other's throats out! What is it we're really angry at, huh? Who's really to blame for what's happening here? We should be focusing all our angry emotions at Nerissa, not each other. Can't you see what's happening? Look around! Don't you remember what happens to our powers when we're not in harmony with each other? This is just the kind of thing our enemies are waiting for! We can't give them that opportunity. We're all trying to deal with what's happened, we all have strong feelings about it; but we need to learn to deal with them without fighting each other. Now everyone take a breath and step off!

Cornelia shot one more acidic glare at Hay Lin before she turned and stalked out one of the side doors. Elyon looked at everyone, before running after Cornelia.

"Cornelia wait…" she called as she disappeared through the same door Cornelia had just slammed.

Will looked at Hay Lin. "Hay Lin?" she ventured tentatively.

Hay Lin held up her hand, then turned on her heel and stomped out a different side door.

Will sighed, and walked slowly back to the steps. She sat down and scrubbed her face with her hands.

Taranee approached her and knelt in front of the redhead. "You okay?"

Without looking up, Will answered. Yes………no………I don't know.

Taranee raised an eyebrow, but played along. Will, we're alone in here. We can talk freely you know…

I know; I just don't trust my voice right now.

Alright…………what's on your mind?

As if you don't already know…

Actually I'm intentionally not reading your thoughts. It's better if you talk about it rather than waiting for me to pull it out of your head.

I just wonder if I made the right decision.

Why do you question it?

Well on the one hand, being alive is better than being dead; and this way we won't have to replace the Water Guardian. Hay Lin is happy, and we won't have to try to explain it to Irma's parents.

And on the other hand?

On the other hand…………Irma's going to be a raving lunatic for the rest of her life. Cornelia was right when she said there's only so much the mind can take. What kind of a life have I doomed Irma to live?

What if it's not like that? Who's to say that once the Joining is finished, Irma won't go back to her usual jovial self? Sure she may be a bit weirded out for a little while, but Irma always bounces back real quick. Back when we were stuck in the cave-in, Irma was coherent for a few minutes. She cracked a joke about Cornelia and even giggled a little bit at one of Hay Lin's. I think maybe we're being a little too quick to write off Irma's potential state of mind when this is through.

But what if I made the wrong choice? What if she is permanently traumatized by having to relive the torture over and over again? What if she ends up in an institution three years from now because of my decision? Do you think Irma would want to live like that?

That's not going to happen Will; we won't let it.

Will snorted and stood up. She walked a few paces away, her back to Taranee. She stared off into space for several minutes before resuming the telepathic conversation.

Did I make the right decision Taranee?

I can't answer that for you Will; all you can do is look into your heart and let it guide you.

But that's just the thing T; my heart told me to let Irma go, to show mercy and end her suffering. My head talked me out of it.

Go on…

I just wonder if I made the right decision for Irma, or for the rest of us. Did I let my duties as a Guardian cloud my judgment? In terms of saving the universe, having a Water Guardian is preferable. But in terms of a fourteen year-old kid...is it really fair to make Irma live with this just for the sake of keeping the team together?

What do you think Irma would say?

She's so warped she would say "Bring it on!" She has such a sense of duty that she would gladly sacrifice everything if it would save someone else. Sorry, but I think she's a little biased.

But isn't it Irma's judgment that should really count here?

But she wouldn't really know what she was getting into after the fact. If she did, it would probably influence her decision.

Alright let's say she goes stark raving nuts six months from now and takes a swan dive off the Sheffield roof. So knowing that will be the eventual outcome, do you think Irma would do anything different?

Will thought for a moment. After several minutes, she shook her head. No…no I don't think she would.

And if she comes out of this perfectly fine with no lasting permanent damage or trauma, do you think she would do anything different then?

No, probably not.

And that's just the point Will. We don't know how this will all end up. It could be one extreme or the other, she could come out somewhere in the middle…who knows? Simply put, we have no way of knowing for sure how things are going to go. All we can do is wait and hope.

Several more minutes of silence followed. Will turned and looked Taranee in the eye. "What would you have done T? Would you have let her go, or would you have saved her life?"

Taranee rose from her kneeling position and walked over to Will. She placed her hands on the Guardian Leader's shoulders and looked her straight in the eyes. "I would've done exactly as you did."

Will let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. She collapsed against Taranee and finally allowed herself to have the cry she had needed for several days. All the frustrations, the pressures, the anguish, the stress, the pain; they all cascaded from Will's eyes and soaked Taranee's shirt. Her slender body was wracked with sobs and Will gripped Taranee tightly, as if letting go would mean her death. Taranee held her friend firmly and let her cry. She wished Will wouldn't keep things bottled up so much. She was so concerned with being the strong leader that she hardly let herself just be a scared little girl. Underneath the wings and shapely woman's body, a young teenager resided. No one should have to face situations like this; especially not a young girl. But they had all been called upon to protect the universe from evil, and they had all accepted that call. Sometimes it seemed all they had was each other. So Taranee let her dear friend cry and vent all her insecurities and fears. Taranee rubbed her back and whispered words of comfort. Someday, she thought to herself, it will be alright…………someday.

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Far Away in a place called Candracar, a lone Guardian floated in the bluest pool of water anyone had ever seen. In her blue string bikini, one would think she was a college student enjoying her spring break. But she was no college student, and this was certainly no spring break. No, this was Hell, and Irma Lair was suffering in it. In her current state of deepest sleep, she was powerless to wake from the nightmare that held her captive. Frost was beating her, Miranda was cutting her, Frost was burning her, whipping her, tearing and pulling at her wings, Miranda skinning the delicate appendages. But the worst was the lightning…Nerissa's murderous lightning. And then there was the taunting…Nerissa, Raythor, Frost. "Call your friends Guardian...;" "It's in your power to stop all this…;" "Beg Guardian…!"

Irma's head thrashed from side to side and she moaned in her "sleep." Her breathing was ragged and irregular; and her back arched intermittently. She would cringe and wince; sometimes even curl her body from the immense pain. The occasional scream would escape the Guardian's lips and tears of despair would betray her tough exterior. Where are my friends? They should have come for me by now? Don't they care? She winced as Frost's cruel fist connected again with her stomach. How long has it been? I can't take it anymore. Stop, please make it stop; don't hurt me anymore! My friends aren't coming………………………………I can't take anymore. Please, stop!

But it didn't stop; it continued, and continued……………and continued. From outside of the large room, two figures observed the distress of the Water Guardian through the glass that separated her from them. The Oracle, always serene and calm, ached for the young woman's suffering. The other figure, tall and mysterious, remained impassive and unreadable as ever.

"I have other duties to attend to Mage," the Oracle said after a time. "No one outside of the Council must know of this; it could compromise the other Guardians' safety. Without the power of the Water Guardian, they will be greatly weakened."

"I understand; I will watch over the Guardian myself, Oracle."

The Oracle nodded and swept out of the room. The Mage waited until the door had closed completely, then she smiled. Placing her hand against the glass that divided her from the suffering Guardian, she began to laugh softly.

"You think you were suffering before Guardian? Just wait…………When you rejoin your friends, the true torture shall begin!"

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Alright that's it then. I hope you enjoyed it; let me know what you think. Also, let me know if you believe Will made the right decision; what would you have done?