COMING TOGETHER
DISCLAIMER: I don't own the characters of BTVS or W.I.T.C.H. and I earn no profit in writing this.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This takes place in the same continuity as 'I'm Done' but is not a sequel and stands alone quite well. If you have any comments or preferences, please don't be shy. RandR.
A frustrated Matt and Hay Lin returned to the Silver Dragon with Blunk's help. "I am worried, as well," Yan Lin assured them, "but there is little that we can do. We will have to wait for the Mage to find Will. She is very capable."
"I know, but I hate waiting while Will is in trouble. I hate not knowing."
"There's gotta be something we can do, gramma!"
The former air guardian nodded sympathetically. There was nothing she could say that would make it any easier on them. She had been in the same position herself far too many times to have any illusions about that. Reassurances just came out sounding hollow or patronizing. A distraction was better. "Why don't you call Will's mom? She's probably frantic by now."
"She'll want answers, y'know," Matt pointed out. "A full explanation, probably." Yan Lin sighed and nodded. "How much can I say? I don't really think I can lie to her anymore."
It was a difficult question, but she already knew what the answer had to be. Deceit had never been one of her strengths, and the lies Matt had already told couldn't really be supported, especially if the strangers had brought in a magic user of their own. "I will come with you." The Council, she suspected, would not be pleased, but the circumstances were highly unusual.
OOOOOOOOOO
Willow Rosenberg was arguing with a toaster. It had been a one-sided conversation that had causing Susan to doubt the younger woman's sanity until a second spell allowed Dawn, the two Slayers, and herself to hear the voices around them. "This is surreal," she muttered, eyeing her daughter's cell phone warily. No wonder she's always leaving that thing behind.
"Have an apple," the refrigerator suggested. "I find food is good for frazzled nerves."
"Um, thanks. Maybe later." She took a step toward the witch. "Willow?" She spread her hands and glanced around questioningly at her talking appliances. Willow gave her a look that plainly said that she was just as baffled and shrugged.
"I've never seen anything like it. It's not demonic possession. They're not household spirits. Anything in the apartment that runs on electricity is just…alive."
"This is creepy," Danielle muttered. "I don't know which is worse. Listening to them or knowing they're like this and not being able to hear them." Susan agreed with the sentiment, wondering if these things posed any kind of threat. She guessed not, as Will never seemed worried. It did explain why she'd taken to yelling at the microwave, though.
A knock at the door caused Susan to jump slightly and look around at the talking appliances in concern. "Willow?"
"They won't hear a thing. Go answer the door." Susan opened the door to find Matt, Hay Lin, and Yan Lin waiting outside.
"Did you find her? Where-?"
"We didn't find her," Matt interrupted as they entered the apartment, "but we got a search started. Meridian is a big place and another set of eyes wouldn't make much difference, so we came back to tell you what we'd learned."
"We've learned some interesting things, too."
Susan's cryptic comment went unexplained for the moment as they all settled around the living room and introductions were made.
"We talked to some friends in the place we think Will went," Matt began.
"Meridian, you called it?"
"That's right." He saw Susan glance at the redheaded woman who shook her head slightly, probably indicating that she'd never heard of it. This wasn't going to be easy. He'd arranged a conference call with all of the Guardians and they had, after briefly panicking over Will's disappearance, agreed that their secret was of secondary importance if the strangers could help. "Meridian is having its own problems right now. It makes finding Will fast even more important."
"What do you mean?" Susan asked, not giving Willow or the others a chance to speak. She wanted him to make assumptions and talk freely, the better to fill her in on what was going on. She already knew he had lied to her, or at least withheld the truth. It didn't make her happy, but she had the impression he was trying to protect Will rather than himself. He wasn't trying to cover up some crime against her daughter. That made her feel slightly better about Matt's intentions, but called into question the judgment of everyone who knew about the demon situation. Why would anyone in their right minds involve children in something so dangerous? She glanced at Hay Lin's grandmother and wondered.
"Well… First, I should tell you…"
"You didn't tell me everything before? Exactly how involved in this demon business is my daughter?"
"I actually got involved in this so I could help her; look out for her if I could." He grimaced at the memory of how well that worked out. "She doesn't really need much looking out for. It's kind of a complicated story, and parts of it really should come from Will. I'm not trying to get out of it, but if you don't mind, I'd kind of like to skip ahead to the current crisis."
"Okay," Susan answered reluctantly, "but I will get the whole story." Matt nodded, as did Yan Lin and Hay Lin.
"The queen of Meridian was kidnapped recently. Will… well, Will is a friend of hers and actually helped to put her on the throne to begin with. Long story. Will would definitely want to help her friend, and… well she could help, if she wasn't missing."
"You think someone will try to prevent that?" Willow asked. It was a beginning, but there were still so many unanswered questions.
"Yeah, and Will is the perfect target." He glanced at Yan Lin who nodded and stood to tell her part. She tried to hide her discomfort at suddenly being the center of attention. This had always been a possibility, and she had dreaded it. They had 'dodged the bullet' with Cassidy, allowing her family to believe her death had been a freak accident, but her conscience still stung about that. She just hoped that she wouldn't have to carry similar news to Susan Vandom. Whether it would be easier for Susan if she knew the truth, Yan Lin honestly didn't know.
"Will is the leader of the Guardians. It is through her that the abilities of the others are magnified, and their power increased three-fold or more."
"What others? And what power precisely?" Willow interrupted.
"The Guardians, of whom my granddaughter is one, wield the power of the five elements, earth, air, water, fire, and quintescence."
"Quintescence?" Susan asked, not having heard the word before.
"Essentially, electricity, but it's much more than that. It is basic life-force."
"Well," Willow mused, "that would explain the appliances."
"You can hear them?" Hay Lin asked; her interest piqued. "I thought only Guardians could hear them."
Willow shrugged. "A simple spell. Are you saying you can't access your magic without Will?"
"Not exactly," the girl hedged. "We can do some things." Hay Lin promptly vanished.
OOOOOOOOOO
Nerissa opened the box and withdrew the stone. "Perfect." A sign sketched in the air and a word in an ancient language were all that was required. "Come to me, Will." The stone glowed brightly for a second and vanished, on its way.
OOOOOOOOOO
"I can make myself invisible, see?" the thirteen year old chirped happily.
"Nope," Willow shook her head with a slight smile. "We don't." Hay Lin giggled.
"And then, just by wanting it, I can be visible again!" Everyone stared expectantly at the approximate source of the voice.
"Will you be wanting to be visible anytime soon?" Susan asked, feeling her grip on reality slipping fast. There was a moment of silence.
"Uh-oh."
"'Uh-oh?'" Willow echoed. "What's wrong?"
"I can't turn it off! Gramma, help!"
"Calm yourself, granddaughter," the previous air guardian advised. "It should be a matter of will. If it is not working…" She paused and concentrated a moment. "I cannot access my abilities either." She frowned, thinking fast. "The last time something like this happened-"
"The Stone of Threbe!" Hay Lin finished. "Could the Mage be using that to find Will?"
"Possibly," Yan Lin allowed, "but why would it interfere with us?"
"Excuse me?" Dawn interrupted. "What are you talking about?"
"The Stone of Threbe," Yan Lin explained, "is a talisman that will summon one who is lost and guide them home. It will also render powerless anything that might hinder the lost one's progress towards their goal. If it is the Stone blocking our powers then-"
"Then maybe the Mage doesn't have it!" Her granddaughter exclaimed. "Maybe the hag who kidnapped Elyon has it!" Her enthusiasm at having made the deduction vanished instantly. "Oh. That's bad."
