Happy St David's day! For all who don't know, this is when we in this little part of the UK eat loads of Welsh Cakes and (for those who have children) send your kids to school in traditional Welsh clothing (either a rugby shirt for boys, or a traditional dress and funny hat for girls).

Oh, and this is now officially my longest ever-fanfic, so hooray for me!

Thanks to: Spongey (we're all just a little insane... isn't that a song title? If not, it should be) and Meg (or La Meg, as she seems to be getting more and more interested in all things French)

A Very Big Thanks to: Ricky Lambert, for scoring THAT goal to send Bristol Rovers into the Football League Trophy final - take that Bristol City, you bunch of red scumbags!

Random Quote: Dydd Gwyl Dewi Hapus (Happy St David's Day in Welsh, pronounced something like 'dith guul dowie hapis')

Darkar and the Trix looked on unimpressed as they gazed at the image of the Ifrit yowling in anger and agony as it tried in vain to free himself from the flaming trap. Darkar was particulary annoyed at having what was supposed to be a good wholesome spot of fairy-splatting entertainment spoilt.

"Hey LD, aren't you going to let that thing go?" Icy asked.

"Yeah, you're not really gonna let those pixies get away with this, right?" Stormy added.

"Hmph! Let those fools enjoy their little victory." Darkar muttered. "And as for him... he'll stay where he is for now. I will not tolerate failure. I have to admit though, I am rather impressed by the way your friends handled my slave..." he said turning to Will.

But Will didn't answer. She just stood there, motionless, with her eyes screwed shut.

"Asleep? Already?" Darcy snorted as she peered closely at the young redhead.

Icy joined in, leaning forwards with her hands on her hips. "Smart girl. She needs all the strength she can get!"

But unknown to them, Will wasn't sleeping - her mind was elsewhere...

Back on the Red Fountain speeder, the gang prepared themselves as best they could as they raced ever closed to their showdown, and the fact that there was more than two seats on this ride helped to comfort them just a little bit. Tegryn, still exhausted from the battle with the Ifrit, giggled as Musa whispered sweet nothings into his ear whilst feeding him a bar of chocolate that Brandon had found stashed in a storage compartment. Of course, the chocolate was warm and slightly melted thanks to the Nahri effect, but Tegryn didn't care - chocolate is chocolate, the ultimate comfort food, especially when you've been totally exhausted by using so much dark magic - and especially when it's being fed to you by your fiancée.

Tecna leant on the ship's dashboard, staring lovingly at Timmy as he piloted the craft whilst trying his best not to get distracted by the pretty pink-haired fairy by his side. Poor Tecna - she was feeling more than a little bit guilty over the way Timmy's pride and joy had been well and truly trashed, but was mightily relieved when he forgave her - now all she needed was for Riven to stop making wisecracks about women drivers.

In one corner, Layla stood together with Jason in a loving embrace, gazing longingly at him with her slate-blue eyes, which seemed to sparkle even more than usual in the fluorescent lights that lit the ship's cabin.

"So Jase, how was Nahri?"

"Amazing. It's such a beautiful planet - you'd love it."

Layla gave him one of her typically coy, sweet smiles. "Well, when this is all over, you're gonna have to take me there!"

"Sure baby, I'd love to. Just one thing though..."

"Yeah?"

"Don't bother packing your thermals!"

Most of the others were sat in a huddle, chatting non-stop about music and all sorts of other Earth-type gossip whilst trying to figure out some sort of battle-plan, when Mimi noticed that Taranee was sitting apart from them with her eyes closed.

"Hey 'Ranee, what's up?" she asked as she sat next to her.

"Hmmm? Oh nothing. I'm just trying to see if I can reach Will"

"Reach her? From here? Are your arms really that long?"

"No, I mean reach her telepathically." Taraneed giggled. "Man I hope she's okay..."

She closed her eyes once more and concentrated.

'Will... Will... can you hear me?'

A slightly worrying pause followed.

'Will? Are you there?'

'Taranee? Is that you? Boy, am I glad to hear a non-evil voice!'

A huge beaming smile appeared on Taranee's face as she heard her friend's answer.

"I've reached her." she informed the others, most of whom had by now crowded around her. 'Will... how are you doing?'

'I've been better. That thing that brought me here is just plain scary, those three girls Darkar hangs out with are just plain annoying, and Darkar himself is so creepy it's unbelievable. And they haven't even offered me any food. It totally sucks here!'

'How you are holding out against Darkar's spell?'

'I'm managing, but I don't know for how long - his powers are really strong. Wait a minute... how did you know about that anyway?'

'We saw it. Mirta did some sort of spell... an eavesdropping spell, I think she called it. We saw how he had you pinned to the wall, then he said something about you invading Kandrakar with him... and it was right then that he realised we were spying on him.'

'Oh, so that's what he meant when he said that thing about you guys catching all that. You ain't the only ones eavesdropping though. That fight you had with that Ifrit thing was intense.'

'You saw all that?'

'Uh-huh. Darkar's been watching you the whole time. I tell you, this guy has some serious power - if only he wasn't a psycho megalomaniac.'

'Oh come now Miss Vandom - that wasn't very nice, now was it?'

Will's and Taranee's eyes both flicked open at this sudden interruption.

'Oh, I'm sorry - was this a private conversation, or can any dark lord join in?'

Taranee gasped.

'What?! Are you... Darkar?'

'Lord Darkar, if you don't mind.'

'But... how is that possible?'

'I think you'll find there are many things that are now possible for me. For instance, I could wipe all of you out right at this very moment if I wanted to... but where's the fun in that? Heh. I look forward to seeing you all soon, especially you Taranee. But what should I do with you? Perhaps I should be merciful and destroy you first, just to save you the agony of watching your friends suffer...'

'You don't frighten me.'

'...or perhaps I should leave you till last, just so you can watch your dear friend Will become my willing slave.'

'YOU DON'T FRIGHTEN ME!'

Darkar laughed a cruel, heartless laugh that rang loudly through Taranee's head - so loud, she had to check herself from screaming. Darkar, obviously revelling in Taranee's distress, continued his intimidating banter.

'Oh, but I do frighten you little girl, I do. You can't hide from me. I can see you... I can hear you... and best of all, I can feel your fear from here. Now, as much as I would love to continue our conversation, I have preparations to make for your little visit. Until later, little girl!'

Taranee was suddenly broken from her telepathic link, and all too soon she became aware of the many pairs of eyes which were now looking at her in concern. As she slumped back in her seat and swallowed hard, she could tell she had broken out into a cold sweat - she felt as though that horrid, sneering voice of Darkar's had torn her shy, timid soul into shreds.

"Taranee? What happened?" Irma asked as she clutched her friend's trembling hand.

"Oh man... I was talking with Will and then... then that Darkar cut in. He... he said..." Taranee stuttered, her voice quivering as she fought to regain her composure. "He knows we're coming. He saw what we did to that Ifrit. He's watching everything we do - everything!"

A stunned silence briefly followed as everybody took this revelation in.

"Well I hope he really did see everything," Anyuna replied defiantly, "'Cos then he'll know that we're no pushovers! I don't know about you guys, but I'm more than ready to kick his bony butt... and his little cronies too!"