Hello again troopers, welcome back to the Whale Pit. Thanks to all my readers and reviewers: Guardian's Light (thanks for the PM's); Shocklance (thanks for the compliments); Baka Purple (love ya little sis); Spyder (Mulder returns); Nisa (congrats to your team); Nerd (welcome back...glad to see you); Chase (Thanks for your compliments); Athena (I love being evil...Muwahaha); Krystal (you're not bad...no worries); Callie (thanks for reading and for reviewing).

Donut Club: Shocklance and Baka...nice job figuring out what was up with Hay Lin.

Again I have to thank Visigoth for being my editor and my rock (you know what I mean); I'm so blessed to have you in my life and I hope I never lose you. Thank you for all you do for me. Hugs.

Alright then, on with the show. Enjoy:

Chapter 27

Irma and Halinor plunged to their deaths, both women knocked unconscious from the tremendous force of the lightning's blow. Down they plummeted, with nothing to impede their murderous descent...until something did. Seemingly out of nowhere, a translucent bubble formed around the stunned duo, halting their crash and protecting them from further damage. The bubble floated serenely among the chaos of the Air Chamber, an eye in the storm of entropy. Without verbal instruction, it moved calmly towards the center of the angry Chamber, while incensed lightning and bitter winds prevailed all around.

Confident in the safety of Guardian and former Guardian, the Oracle turned his attention to the maddened Chamber. Floating in midair, he raised his arms, then gently lowered his hands in a calming gesture; one which the Chamber found even more provoking. The winds screamed as they hurled themselves against this new intruder; the lightning flashed towards the invader, its fury immeasurable. Placidly, the Oracle thrust his hands forward then quickly drove them apart, splitting the angry forces harmlessly around his being. Closing his fists, he furrowed his brow and shouted, "Enough!" His voice echoed around the Chamber like a living command...a voice the Chamber knew instantly. The gales stopped, the lightning ceased, the very air itself calmed as the Chamber obeyed the Master of Candracar.

The Oracle approached Yan Lin's prison, his countenance gray and haggard. Wheezing slightly, he laid his hand against the bubble. He groaned and let his head fall backward as his power emanated through his fingers. A faint blue glow illuminated the transparent sphere that held Yan Lin captive; it brightened as the seconds passed. Slowly, ever so slowly, the bubble began to flicker...the Oracle only hoped he was not too late.

As the sphere finally dissolved completely, Yan Lin slumped and began to fall. She was caught by the gentle embrace of a cloud, and ferried back to the Oracle. Her breathing was barely noticeable, her heart rate was ragged and unsteady, and her face was pale-white. The bald man placed two fingers on the old woman's forehead and began to hum softly. A light-green glow emanated from his fingers as he hummed, and Yan Lin's pallor began to steadily improve. Presently, her breathing strengthened and her heartbeat returned to a normal rhythm. She murmured in her near-comatose state, "Hay Lin, Hay Lin..."

"Take her to Tibor please," the Oracle whispered, and the cloud immediately obeyed. It floated serenely, yet quickly, towards the entrance to the Chamber. Depositing its load at the feet of Tibor, Luba, and Althor, it immediately returned to the Oracle's side.

"The Guardian," the Master muttered weakly, indicating Irma and Halinor. The protective sphere dissolved as the cloud settled underneath the two unconscious women. Gentling cradling them, the cloud sped to the entrance once more.

Yan Lin, Halinor...their rooms. The Guardian...Chamber.

Oracle, you are weak and require rest.

There is a duty I must perform first, Tibor. Tell Luba...wait for...me.

Oracle...

Please Tibor...please.

Tibor growled under his breath, but turned to Luba. "You are to wait here for the Oracle. Don't even think of disobeying."

Luba growled and glared at the big bodyguard, but said nothing.

"Althor, please take Yan Lin to her room while I..."

Halinor suddenly stirred and moaned. Tibor stopped speaking and immediately knelt beside the fallen woman.

"Halinor," he intoned softly, "Halinor."

With a groan, Halinor's eyes fluttered open. "Wh-what happened?" Then she gasped. "Irma!"

"Shh, Halinor," Tibor said gently, pushing the old woman back down. "The Guardian will be fine. You must rest now."

With a slight moan, Halinor laid her head back on the cold floor. Every bone ached, and every muscle screamed. As she felt herself drifting back to the comfort of darkness, Irma moaned next to her.

"Remain still Guardian," Althor said. "You have been through a lot."

Irma's whispered reply was lost on everyone. "Sorry, what was that?" Althor asked.

The young woman grabbed the front of the dwarf's robes and pulled him close. Althor strained to hear the whispering.

"Ah, Halinor," he said. "She's right here and she's fine."

A ghost of a smile played at the Guardian's lips as she continued whispering.

"Get the number of the what?" Althor asked confusedly. "What's a wildebeest?"

Irma laughed softly, leading almost instantly to a coughing fit. Althor gently raised the Guardian's head and patted her back.

"Althor, take the Guardian to her Chamber please," Tibor said. "I shall take Halinor to her room. Luba, you wait here."

"No, I'm fine," Irma protested, sitting up and waving away Althor's help. She turned herself towards Halinor's unconscious form. "Dammit..." she whispered.

"She will be fine after she rests a while," Tibor said. "You have done well to preserve her life."

"Preserve her life hell," Irma spat. "I damn near got her killed."

"Do not...be so...hard on yourself, Guardian," the Oracle said, floating himself and Yan Lin through the Chamber's entrance. "You have helped...to save...two lives."

Tibor hurried forward and caught Yan Lin.

"Please take Halinor and...the Guardian...to their...rooms, Tibor; Althor...take Yan Lin."

"I'm fine, Oracle," Irma protested. "But you're not. What happened?"

"It takes a...tremendous amount of...energy to...stop a...Chamber. I will be...fine...once I have...rested."

"Then let me take you to your room," Irma suggested, accepting Althor's hand up.

"I must...speak with Luba...first," the Oracle replied.

"Oracle..."

"I shall be fine, my friend," the Oracle cut in over Tibor's protests."Already I feel...stronger. Please, leave us now."

Tibor muttered something unintelligible as he scooped up Halinor. Althor looked equally unconvinced as he gently raised Yan Lin to his shoulders. Nonetheless, the Council Members respected their leader's wishes and quietly exited the hallway. Irma remained behind, her eyes fixed on Luba. The cat nodded, indicating the door at the end of the corridor. Irma narrowed her eyes, but Luba growled softly. With a slight huff, the Guardian finally turned and followed the others out the door.

The Oracle took a deep breath and faced Luba. "You have acted recklessly, Caretaker. You have allowed your pride to interfere with your judgment so fully that you nearly cost three lives."

Luba remained silent.

"I know you are unhappy with me, but you cannot allow yourself to become so blinded that you endanger others."

"And you should not allow yourself to be so blinded by the laws of mercy that you cannot exact justice when it is merited."

"Execution is never justice, Luba."

"And allowing five girls to fight a battle we should have ended years ago is?"

"Go on, Luba."

"Nerissa should never have been allowed to get to this point, should never have been allowed to invade Candracar, should never have been allowed to exact vengeance against the Water Guardian."

"Vengeance is a path that leads only to sorrow and pain."

"Yes, particularly for Irma."

"The Guardian has survived, Luba."

"Survived, yes, but does she now truly live? Her mind is in shambles, her spirit is nearly broken. She is a mere cubling, and what have we forced upon her?"

"None of us knew Nerissa would be capable of such evil."

"But why did we take the chance? We should have ended her miserable existence when we had the opportunity."

The Oracle merely nodded.

"Why?" Luba growled angrily. "Why did you stop me?"

The Oracle's eyes saddened a little. "Because I could not allow my dear friend to become a murderer. Because I could not allow you to carry this burden that I alone must bear."

Luba opened her mouth to reply, but stopped short. She wasn't certain what she had been expecting to hear, but this wasn't it.

The Oracle sighed heavily and leaned his tired back against the smooth, cold wall. "I believe I may have made an error in judgment where Nerissa is concerned. Though I will never agree that execution was the answer, I see now we should have imprisoned her someplace more secure."

Luba blinked.

"We should have made certain she would never escape," the Oracle continued. "We should have found a way to drain her power, to pacify her, to aid her on the road to redemption. Instead we merely encapsulated her body and allowed her spirit to mold and tarnish. She descended into the blackest abyss and a spirit of loathing has great hold on her heart. I now believe she is beyond redemption, Luba. And for this...I can never forgive myself."

Luba blinked again and swallowed heavily. She had prepared herself for a fight, and instead she was receiving a confession...one of a man who looked suddenly much older than he had ever seemed.

"It is my responsibility, and mine alone;" the Oracle said softly. "I must live with the shame and the guilt, I must carry the consequences upon my own shoulders. That I allowed the Water Guardian to be injured unto death because of my short-sighted hopes that Nerissa would one day atone for her crimes..."

The Oracle broke off then and sank to the floor. He buried his porcelain face in his hands and wept bitterly. Luba stared stupidly, unable to reconcile what she was seeing. The Oracle was the strongest man she knew, and yet here he was, crying like a baby. She didn't know what to do, and she knew any comfort she tried to offer now would only seem empty. So she cleared her throat awkwardly and politely turned her back.

"Forgive me, my friend," the Oracle said presently. "I did not mean for you to witness my lack of control. I am sorry."

Luba couldn't find her voice, so she merely nodded.

"I have made mistakes, Luba; I am not a perfect being. I live with those mistakes and I try to learn from them. You have made a grave error this day, and nearly cost the lives of three people. Were it not for the needs of the Aurameres, I would banish you from Candracar."

"Oracle..."

"You had no right to send the Guardian into that Chamber with the knowledge you possessed at the time. I know you understood what was happening, and I know why you did not summon me. To compound matters you tasked the Guardian with defending the life of Halinor, knowing full well it was an impossible task under the circumstances. It almost seems like you wished them harm."

Luba growled menacingly. "That is unfair!"

"I do not believe you wish them harm, Caretaker; only that you allowed your pride to rule your judgment. That you allowed the warrior to dictate to the scholar. That you permitted your aggressive nature to supersede your calmer side, and in so doing, nearly caused a disaster. All of these things are true and accurate...and you know it."

Luba snarled loudly. "What right have you to judge me? What gives you the privilege of acting as my executioner in this matter? Had you done your duty years before, we would not have this situation at all."

"That is also true, but dredging up the past as though we had power to change it is pointless. I have admitted my faults, Luba; I am not proud of how this has come about. I would give anything to go back and change it all, but I have not that power. I would give up my very life if it meant the Guardians would not need to suffer, but that will change nothing. I can only try to move forward now, try to aid them now; but if I should falter, I must trust my friends to be at my side to help me. Right now Luba, I need to know I can trust you never to make this critical of an error again."

Luba sighed and pulled on her ears. Turning her back to the Oracle, she squeezed her ears until they hurt. On the one hand, she knew she had screwed up. Her intentions had not been to cause harm to anyone, and yet...on the other hand she disagreed so much with the Oracle in principle at the moment, that she felt she couldn't turn to him for anything. She didn't feel as though he truly understood her inner turmoil, but she also knew when a battle was lost and pointless; and quite frankly she was tired of listening to him. So she turned herself to face the man and tried to keep the defiance out of her face, the edge out of her voice.

"I stand by your side, Oracle; I shall not allow my pride to overtake me again."

The Oracle smiled and looked relieved. He extended his hand and placed it on Luba's furry shoulder. "Then I shall continue to count you as my friend; this gladdens my heart. Thank you, Caretaker."

"You should rest now, Oracle; you are drained."

"Yes, yes I will do so." The Oracle turned and proceeded to the doorway at the end of the hall.

Luba watched him shuffle away, and her eyes narrowed dangerously. "But know this, Oracle," she spat under her breath. "This is not over, and if you try to stop me from destroying Nerissa again...we will become enemies."

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Irma accompanied Tibor and Althor to the rooms of Halinor and Yan Lin. After seeing them settled comfortably to rest, she set out for Taranee's Elemental Chamber. She wasn't certain what she was looking for, but she needed to talk to someone who could understand...she didn't know what, but she needed her friend.

Her thoughts turned inward as she strolled the corridors of Candracar. She still felt broken inside and she doubted somehow that the feeling would ever change. She was on edge all the time, afraid of her own shadow when she was alone. And yet, she had charged into an angry Air Chamber just moments before without flinching. What was going on anyway? She felt out of control but not always. She felt angry at everyone, but most of the everyone were her friends. She felt pain in her bones from injuries that had long since healed. And the only place she felt safe was in her own Elemental Chamber...in the water. Unless she could feel its tendrils around her body, she was jumpy and edgy; expecting the ghosts of her captors to leap out at her at any moment. Even now she could feel her heart pounding and she wanted to run...run to the safety of the water. Her breathing quickened and her hands began to shake. She was sweating yet she was cold, and she could feel Frost's frigid breath on the back of her neck. She ran then...ran as fast as she could away from the brute...she couldn't face him, not now; not ever. She felt the lash pierce her skin and she cried out. Frost's cruel laughter echoed in her ears. Beg Guardian...BEG! She screamed and clamped her hands over her ears as she raced headlong. She accidentally tripped herself and crashed to the floor, her elbows skidding along the smooth, polished surface. She rolled to her back and crab-walked away from Frost...but there was nobody there behind her.

She stopped and gazed confused at the emptiness of the hallway. Breathing hard, she opened and closed her mouth like a fish. She struggled to control her breathing as she finally allowed herself to collapse in a heap.

"What's happening to me?" she wailed softly, burying her face in her hands. She grabbed fistfuls of her hair and squeezed. She felt a weight on her shoulder and she screamed. Reacting instinctively, she twisted around and let fly a jetstream of water...effectively pinning a very surprised Taranee to the wall.

"Irma," Taranee squawked, "it's me...Taranee!"

"Oh crap!" Irma exclaimed, immediately reigning in her power. Taranee was soaked, but seemed otherwise unharmed. "I'm so sorry, Taranee. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," the Guardian replied, shaking water off her glasses. "But you're not. I heard you screaming...what's going on?"

"Forget that...I want to know how you're doing," Irma replied impatiently, glad to have a distraction from her own crazed thoughts.

"I just woke up, but I guess I'm alright," Taranee replied, replacing her glasses on her face and starting to wring out her hair. Irma took pity on her friend and siphoned the water off.

"Thanks for that...I really don't like water."

"Or Cadillacs, or mushrooms, or postmen, yeah I know; nevermind that...tell me what happened to you!"

"Well, I lost all my powers for a while...like they got drained or something. I felt so lost and so cold without them. Have you ever wished for something so bad it actually hurt?"

Irma's mind clouded with memories of her torture, and how she had wished for Hay Lin. "Yeah, I think I know what you mean."

Taranee shuddered at the thought of reliving her pains, but she believed Irma deserved to know what had happened. So she recounted the naked panic she felt at not having her powers; the violent tremors she endured; the unbearable agony.

"There was so much pain...so much. I wanted to die, Irma. I just wanted it all to be over; I would have given anything to make it all stop."

Suddenly Taranee gasped and her hands flew to her mouth. "Oh my gosh, what am I doing?"

Irma looked confused. "Uh...I dunno. What are you doing?"

"I can't believe I'm such an idiot," Taranee moaned, smacking her own forehead. "After all you went through, here I am...Oh I'm such an idiot!!"

"Why would you say that? Do you think I can't handle it or something?"

"No, it's not that..."

"Do you think I would think any less of you for sharing your pain with me?"

"Irma..."

"Do you think I would abhor you for saying you wanted it all to stop?"

"No...I just didn't want to dredge up old memories for you, that's all."

"Old memories," Irma repeated incredulously. "Old memories?! I live with them every day of my life, T," Irma said. She tapped her forehead then as she continued. "They're not old memories...they're right here at the front of my noggin."

"Irma please, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be insensitive."

"You're not being insensitive, Taranee. Of all your friends, who is more uniquely qualified than me to understand what you went through?"

"Probably no one," Taranee shrugged.

"Right, no one. So stop pussy-footing around me and tell me how it was. It might help you to talk about it."

Taranee resisted the urge to throw that retort back into her friend's face. If anyone needed to talk about what had happened over the last few weeks, it was Irma. However, the timing right now would be horrible, so Taranee said nothing of the sort. Instead she merely sighed and sank down against the wall. Irma followed suit.

"It felt like a bad dream; like I should wake up any moment and everything would be perfectly normal. But I couldn't wake up because it wasn't a dream...it was reality. The pain, Irma...it was unbearable. I felt like my insides were being liquefied slowly; like I was literally eating myself alive. I couldn't stay still, I couldn't think clearly...all I knew was agony and despair. No hope...no hope of ever being warm, or comfortable, or safe again."

She paused then and began to tremble. Irma squeezed her friend's shoulders and exhorted, "Go on."

"I remember...I remember shouting. Yes, I was shouting...shouting to anyone, 'Please, help me!' But no one came to help me, and I felt so alone and miserable. So cold...so cold. After a while, I began to feel numb...I clawed at my own face, my arms, my belly...anything I could reach just so I could feel something. I think my Chamber did something to immobilize my wrists so I couldn't hurt myself anymore, because I remember screaming at it to let me go. Just let me go...let me go, let me go, let me go! I said some pretty awful things that I'm not proud of, but the Chamber refused to release me. I'm grateful now for what it did, but at the time, I saw it as yet another attack. I was so paranoid, I began to blame my friends for what had happened to me. Then just as I was about to give up and let myself go, I began to feel the smallest flicker of warmth. It was coming from inside me and I knew it wasn't anything the Chamber had done. I grabbed onto that tiny flame and held on for dear life...because I truly felt my life was on the line. Gradually that flicker grew into a larger flame until it eventually filled my whole being. I felt like a living furnace...and it was the best feeling ever! From that moment on, I began to recover physically and emotionally. I felt ashamed for losing control, and for driving you away days ago. Can you ever forgive me, Irma?"

"For what?" Irma replied. "Look, when we're in pain, we all say stuff we wish we hadn't. It's the mark of a good friend that will look past all that and love you anyway. Isn't that what we all really want, after all? To be loved in spite of ourselves? Heaven knows I've said some things to my friends over these last few weeks that were pretty hurtful; but none of you have given up on me. I haven't given up on you either, Taranee...and I'm not going anywhere."

Taranee's eyes filled with tears as she embraced her friend. She hugged Irma hard enough to make the latter squeak, but still didn't let go. For some minutes, the friends simply sat there, holding onto one another, each gathering strength from the other. Finally, Taranee released her friend.

"How are the others? I saw what happened to Will and Cornelia...please tell me they're alright."

Irma's expression grew serious. "Neither one is awake yet, and Luba said Cornelia could go downhill really fast. Will is stable I guess...that shaft didn't hit anything vital, or I doubt she would have survived. She woke up enough in the Atrium to teleport everyone to their Chambers."

Irma's voice grew quiet then. "I'm not exactly certain what happened, but her face...it was just so...so..."

Taranee nodded. "I can imagine; I saw what happened. She took one of Nerissa's lightning bolts square in the face."

Irma's mouth dropped. "Oh my..." The young Guardian had to fight down the gall. "How did she survive?"

"I don't know," Taranee shook her head. "I'm just grateful she did."

"Let's go see how she's doing," Irma suggested.

"Great idea!" Taranee said. "We can see Will then check in on Cornelia. After that maybe we can see Hay Lin."

"Yeah, I like it!" Irma enthused.

The two friends rose to their feet and set off for Will's Chamber. As they neared the corridor, they heard a bloodcurdling scream.

The Guardians stopped dead in their tracks. Their eyes widened as they met. "Will!"

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And there we have it folks. I hope y'all enjoyed it. If not, please direct criticism towards Visigoth...he really enjoys it. :)

Take care everyone...thanks for reading.