Chapter #4! As my dear friends Def Leppard once said: It's better to burn out than to fade away!
As I spread mass mayhem and panic through the streets of a city near you, alls CJzilla has to roar is this: R&R you fantasy motherhopers!
"Water Guardian," the light was distorted as a large being passed through the worlds.
As the entity passed totally through the porthole, Irma saw who it was.
"Frost," she growled seeing the gun for hire saddled on his bulldozer of a rhino.
The large elfin mercenary smirked at the smaller Irma.
"Do you have a death wish?" Irma barked at Frost. "Because I am all about granting wishes!"
Frost spun his lance in his hand.
"A petty threat guardian," he grinned, pointing his weapon at her. "You are alone and helpless."
Irma scowled.
"I can handle you with all four guardians tied behind my back," she blasted. "Now I order you to leave!"
Frost shook his blond head.
"I will do no such thing without completing my mission first," he returned.
Irma narrowed her blue eyes at the mercenary.
"Then you'll have to go through me," she told him, spreading her arms.
Frost chuckled at her.
"I suppose I can pulp you up before I take you," he grinned at Irma.
But the Water Guardian stood her ground.
"How 'bout I take you down AFTER I pulp YOU up?" she returned.
"Highly unlikely," the elfin mercenary retorted before giving his rhino a kick to the sides.
Frost and his rhino pet shot for Irma.
It was true that Irma was more vulnerable without Will Vandom around. Will, who was the Keeper of the Heart of Meridian, had the ability to transform Irma, Taranee, Cornelia and Hay Lin into the Guardians of Meridian. Without the Heart Guardian around, Irma could not make her transformation and get full use of her powers. But that didn't stop the Water Guardian from picking a fight with Frost.
"Give it your best shot Frost!" Irma called to the water around her.
The rain water around her responded to her herald and moved to the Guardian's will.
Irma sidestepped Frost's blunt attack and as he passed, she shot a pillar of water at him. Frost and his rhino took the wet attack, merely sliding on the slick pavement. The elfin mercenary flipped his long soggy blond hair out of his face and his rhino gave an angry snort. Frost gave Irma an amused grin and charged again.
The Water Guardian gathered the puddles of water into a ball and packed the water tightly together. The result was a dense sphere of water that hit like a cannonball. Irma shot it with all her might at Frost's rhino steed. The water ball hit dead on and was enough to make the rhino stumble.
With his beast of burden falling forward, Frost jumped off it at the last second.
Frost flew off of his rhino so fast that Irma didn't have time to move. She was tackled mid-waist by a ton of elfin mercenary muscle. The impact sent the two flying onto the street.
Irma could do nothing but gasp for air that she didn't have. Frost had stood and was now towering over her. With the wind knocked out of her, Irma rolled to her stomach and tried to stand. She heard Frost laugh at her and then felt a punishing kick to her side. Irma tumbled to her back.
"The most you did was get me wet Water Guardian," Frost jeered at her.
Frost then knelt down and in a shift motion, shackled her feet.
"You are coming with me," the elfin mercenary added.
Then there was a peculiar sound from behind him. Frost turned his head to see a small Earthen house cat starring at him. The elfin merc cocked a brow at the friendly animal. Then the cat did the most unexpected thing. It morphed into a much huger feline with long canine teeth and a seething look in its eye. Without missing a beat, the huge cat jumped on Frost and pinned him to the ground.
"You spineless insect," came an eerily familiar voice from the mammoth feline. "You have no honor."
The cat morphed again, but this time into the form of Lord Cedric. Frost could not believe his eyes even when Cedric hoisted him to eye-level by his neck.
"You are even more of a sewer rat than I once thought Frost," Phobos' right-hand-man hissed at the merc, his cat-like eyes now raging slits.
Frost then found himself hurled through the air, down the street and into a grassy yard.
Irma's breath was steadily coming back to her, but she only got it back to lose it again.
"Irma?" the voice belonged to Lord Cedric.
Irma looked up and saw Cedric in his human form.
"Cedric?" she immediately questioned, not believing her eyes.
The shape-shifter grinned at her.
"Are you hurt?" he asked helping her sit up.
Irma groaned with a smile, holding her thumping head.
Making a motion to get up from the ground, Irma got a reminder that Frost's shackles were still on her ankles. The Water Guardian groaned, kicking her feet as the chains rattled. Cedric took Irma's hands and hauled her to her feet in very little effort.
"Inside, only where my pride is," she returned. "What are you doing here?"
Cedric smiled wider.
"I had to see you again," he told her. "And it looks like I was in time for a battle."
"Well, you can just sit this one out Lord Migraine," Irma held up her hand, pouting with a teasing grin. "I have him handled."
The shape-shifter chuckled at her.
From a distance down the street, a bright illumination lit up a yard in front of a house. Cedric and Irma had but a moment to push apart before the beam of light ripped through the air.
"Defending the Water Guardian Lord Cedric?" Frost grinned as he approached an energy whip in his hand. "I doubt Phobos is giving you orders when he himself is behind bars. Is thissickening display of blind protection to the enemy an echo of your own thoughts Cedric?"
Cedric gritted his teeth. Frost merely smirked.
"You have grown appallingly soft Cedric," the elfin mercenary spat to the ground. "I have no dealings with Phobos unless I am well paid, but I shall love to see the look on his face whenI tell him that his right-hand minion is conspiring with a Guardian."
In that moment when Frost had their attention, his rhino charged, catching the Cedric blind-sided. Cedric flew down the street but veered off to the left, smashing into a stoop and trash cans.
Irma watched in horror as Cedric flew and his body crushed that concrete stoop. Irma wiped that fear off of her face and gave Frost a taunting smirk.
"Thanks for the assist Frost," the Water Guardian said with a hand on her hip. "You spared me a fight filled with Cedric's little monologing and threats. But I will not return the favor onthe first date."
Frost growled.
Irma fired another blast of water with a smirk. The pillar of water caught Frost in the chest and it sent the elfin mercenary bouncing back. In the corner of her eye, Irma caught Frost's rhino pawing the ground as it readied to charge. The Water Guardian called to the rain water that was all around and the puddle that the beast was standing in.
The standing water suddenly moved, holding the rhino in place. The creature called out in alarm as lines of water from puddles littering the street lashed across its back. The animal was held still by the water.
Events now appeared in Irma's favor.
"Do you surrender Frost?" the Water Guardian called out. "Or are ya hungry for more?"
Frost was now standing, looking positively soaked. Irma laughed at the soggy looking elfin merc.
"Surrender Frost," she jeered. "And go home before you die of phenomena ."
Frost scowled at her.
"Not before I complete my mission Guardian," he returned, and with a wave of his hand he called out to the shackles around Irma's feet.
In an instant the fetters on her ankles felt red-hot, and then pulled all of her power out of her.
"Beg for mercy Water Guardian," Frost growled.
From the ground where Cedric found himself, he heard Irma cry out. Bolting to his feet, the shape-shifter caught the young Water Guardian fall. Irma fell motionless on the wet ground. Her hold on the liquid around her dissipated and the water fell to calm standing puddles of rain.
"No!" Cedric whispered, making an attempt to run to Irma's side.
But Frost was on her faster than Cedric could move. The elfin mercenary walked over to the Water Guardian, making sure she was unconscious before he picked her up. Calling his rhino to him, Frost flung the girl over the beast and climbed into the saddle without another thought. Using his energy whip, the elfin merc opened a portal to Meridian and gave a kick to the sides of his rhino.
In a blast of white light and wind, Frost disappeared back into Meridian with Irma as his prisoner.
Cedric was left alone to peel himself out of the human refuse he had been thrown into. Getting to his feet, Cedric knew that Irma was in grave danger. Naming just a few of the repercussions in taking one of the Guardians of Meridian, Cedric didn't stand around to wonder why Frost abducted Irma. He had to get help. Cedric morphed into a cat and bolted to the Silver Dragon.
Meanwhile Will, Taranee, Cornelia and Hay Lin were waiting impatiently for their last friend to show up.
Now on their second glasses of water and starving to order their drinks and food, the Guardian's of Meridian glanced at their watches.
"It doesn't take even a klutz like Irma in high heels THIS long to get here," Cornelia voiced drumming her fingers on the table.
"Maybe she couldn't find a dress to wear," Hay Lin wondered. "I've never really seen her dress shopping lately."
"Even if she didn't have a dress to wear," Taranee stated, arm resting over her chair, "Irma'd be here by now."
Will glanced at Taranee and Hay Lin reading their worried expressions on their faces.
"Maybe we should-" the Guardian of the Heart stood up, but Cornelia cut her off.
"Oh please Will," the Earth Guardian swatted the air, "I doubt Irma is anything but late because she can't find a dress. I say at least order an appetizer and THEN give Irma a call."
Will nodded and sat back down.
Hay Lin giggled.
"Cornelia's a little grumpy without food," the Wind Guardian leaned over to Will.
"I am not!" Cornelia hissed.
Taranee, Will and Hay Lin laughed as they glanced over their menus.
"Can I take your order?" came a voice from the waiter.
Cornelia was the first to start blurting out food items.
"First of all I'd like that Apricot and Balsamic salad," the Earth Guardian rattled off. "And can I get some more water?"
"Oh, I'm sorry," the waiter replied, "the water is gone."
That reply got all of the Guardians to look up. Will, Taranee, Cornelia and Hay Lin nearly jumped five feet in the air. There was Lord Cedric, in his human form dressed like their waiter.
"I'll check in the back and see if we have something other than water," Cedric simply said, gesturing with his eyes for the Guardians to follow.
With that Cedric turned on his heel and disappeared through the kitchen's swinging doors.
"What do we do?" Taranee asked looking to Will.
The Guardian of the Heart narrowed her eyes as she looked at the kitchen's door.
"We follow," Will answered. "He knows something about Irma."
And she got up and walked through the kitchen's doors. Taranee, Hay Lin and Cornelia followed close behind.
R&R. Rock on...