Thanks to: Meg (or is it Female Teggy?!), Spongey, Sokai and Dinurs for their reviews, and the BBC (who I've just discovered have been showing WITCH for a few months)
No Thanks to: the BBC for not bothering to advertise the fact that they've been showing WITCH, and the bastard cold virus which is making me feel really crappy right now (grrr...)
Random Quote: Whatever you do, don't mention the war. I did once but I think I got away with it. (Fawlty Towers)
"There's no way this is a school - it's way too beautiful!"
A few hours had passed, and the sun was preparing to make its daily journey to the other side of the horizon, painting the sky with a tinge of red as it went. Will and Tegryn had been discharged from the infirmary, much to Tegryn's relief - being a wanderer at heart, he just wasn't one for staying still and he'd been positively climbing the walls to get out (not literally though, thanks to Tune's lap-sitting vigil).
And so the Alfea girls were treating their guests to a grand tour of the castle. They had taken care of the obligatory boring bits fairly quickly - the library, the classrooms, the dining hall - and they were passing through the central courtyard and admiring the castle from the ouside when Cornelia noticed something a tiny bit odd.
"What's that?"
"Erm, that's my room." Anyuna replied, pointing up to the small balcony looking over them.
"No, not that... that!" she said, pointing at a slight dip in the ground, a couple of metres wide, running in a straight line for almost a hundred yards up to the wall below Anyuna's balcony which still bore some very faint scorch marks. "It looks like some sort of furrow."
"Oh, that. That's Teggy's handiwork, that is. Our least favourite witches decided to bring their brother along to cause some trouble, and Teggy managed to get in a good shot on that loser."
"A good shot? Looks more than good to me."
"Oh yeah, Teggy gets pretty powerful when he's steamed"
"...and nothing gets him more steamed than someone hurting his girlf!" the twins explained.
"Woo! Now this I gotta see!" said Hay Lin as she placed her hand on the ground and closed her eyes.
"Eh? What's she doing?" asked Bloom.
"Hay Lin can see into the past through using sound. Look, there she goes..." Will explained as her friend began to do her thing. The crowd looked on as Hay Lin began to direct her efforts. Her face took on a number of expressions - fear, amazement, horror, excitement - as the events of that massive encounter were played out before her very eyes. Kaiser's sickening attack on Musa, Tegryn, Mirta and Layla's brave efforts, the Rage Blast that caused the damage to Alfea's grounds, Mirta's awesome new-found powers, and the teamwork between Tegryn, Mirta and Darcy as they finally sent that maniac into Limbo - Hay Lin had witnessed them all thanks to her powers, and she seemed to breathe a sigh of relief as the playback ended and she returned back to the present.
"Teggy, that's some serious firepower you got there! And if anyone did THAT to my crush, I'd do exactly the same thing - it'd be totally worth it, even if it did cause all that damage."
"And they've tried so hard to repair that damage too, but they haven't quite got it right yet. It's such a shame, but at least it can barely be noticed now." Flora added.
Cornelia smiled as she turned to Tegryn. "Well Teggy, perhaps we can do some repairs of our own - you wanna learn some earth magic?"
"No time like the present!" he answered, rubbing his hands together enthusiastically.
"Okay, just watch me. Keep an eye on the ground by the wall." Cornelia held out her hands and closed her eyes as they took on a faint glow. Slowly, the patch of ground nearest to the wall began to rise and level off, leaving a perfectly flat finish.
"Oh, very nice!" Tegryn applauded.
"Thank you - now it's your turn! Level off that patch over there," she replied, pointing at a spot safely away from the building. "Just hold out your hands like I did, close your eyes and focus your attention on that one spot."
Tegryn did as he was instructed.
"Can you feel anything yet?"
"No, not yet, I... wait... yes... yes, I think so... I can feel... some sort of connection."
"Good. Keep your focus, and just think what you want to happen. Think about what form you want that patch of ground to take, and make it happen SLOWLY."
Tegryn took in a few deep breaths as he concentrated all his efforts.
"Yes! Yes, that's it, I think I've got... oh."
His voice trailed away in disappointment as he opened his eyes only to be greeted by what could only be described as a giant molehill towering above them.
"Ah... I think I may have overdone it just a teensy bit."
"Never mind. Just focus again, and this time concentrate on bringing it down a touch."
Tegryn closed his eyes again, drew in a deep breath and concentrated hard on the molehill. He could feel the energy flowing through him, he could feel the earth doing his bidding, he could feel... his foot slipping down a slope that definately wasn't there before. He opened his eyes and took a step back, shaking his head in frustration. The giant molehill had now been replaced by a smooth, shallow, almost-perfectly round crater.
"One last try Teggy," Musa urged, patting his shoulders like a manager urging her fighter on for just one more round. "Come on baby, you can do it!"
He closed his eyes once more and applied himself totally. He was gonna do it this time, he could feel it. As he felt the energy starting to flow through him once more, he could visualise the ground raising up, and the crater slowly vanishing. As it did so, he felt a great feeling of elation - he was doing it, he was really doing it!
BOOM!
That elation was short lived as he was blown off his feet by the sudden explosion, landing hard on his rear end. He coughed as a thick dust cloud quickly blanketed the entire group, and tutted as he picked a small clod of turf off the top of his head.
"Somehow, I get the feeling I need more practice!"
"Wow, I was just thinking the exact same thing - what a coincedence!" Cornelia said, laughing as she quickly tidied away the blast hole that Tegryn had so carelessly left behind, before tidying it up with a lush covering of grass.
"Oh, very impressive young lady. I assume you must be one of our visitors from Earth."
Cornelia span around to see Principal Faragonda standing behind her. She laughed nervously, guessing correctly that Faragonda was a figure of authority here.
"Thanks! Um, yes, we're from Earth. How did you know?" she asked politely.
"News travels quickly around here. Will you be staying for long?"
"A day at least. Will's not allowed to jump dimensions for another 24 hours - nurse's orders."
Faragonda smiled pleasantly. "Well I trust the girls are making you feel most welcome." she said before turning to Tegryn, who was busy trying to dust himself down.
"Tsk tsk. Mr Devanallt, I should've guessed you'd have something to do with this. What is it with you and our gardens anyway? Do you have a grudge against them or something?"
"I'm sorry Principal. I was just practicing a spot of earth magic."
"Earth magic, eh? I see. In that case, might I make a suggestion? In future, how about practicing somewhere else, where explosions and large craters aren't quite so noticable. Anyway, this isn't why I'm here. I actually came to speak to Charlotte."
Charlotte looked surprised. "Me? Why?"
"It appears there's some sort of trouble on your homeworld. Red Fountain are dispatching a group of specialists to investigate, and I'd like you to accompany them as a guide."
"Specialists? Does that mean Riven?" she asked, wide-eyed in expectation.
"Hmmm... yes, I do believe Riven is part of the group, as well as your other friends."
"EEEEEE!" she screamed, skipping around excitedly. "I get to show Riven my homeworld! I get to show Riven my homeworld!" Suddenly she stopped, gasping as she realised something which, as any girl would tell you, is vitally important to any serious relationship.
"I CAN INTRODUCE HIM TO MY PARENTS!"