Will was tossed into a cylinder shaped room. She skidded across the floor and came to a halt near the rooms center. She didn't bother to move or fly away. What was the point? Will shifted her head around and moved her choppy red hair to look about the room. It was tall, dark, damp and reeked of death and despair. It made her shutter. The stone walls went on forever, rising up into the rafters and beyond. The word 'bottomless' came to mind. Water leaked from an underground river that ran beneath the prison, soddening the stone floor. As the lyerdians who had tossed her in the prison surrounded her, Will didn't bother to fight against rough and calloused hands they laid upon her as they shackled her wrists in chains. The lead lyerdian walked over to a wall and pulled a leaver, causing the chains to rise up. Will's arms followed, giving her the appearance of a scarecrow. Suddenly, her legs buckled beneath her and she rested on her knees. An overwhelming sense of despair arose in her. People died down there. She was helpless and weak. She was going to die.
About half way up the wall, there was a lantern suspended in the middle of the cylinder prison, held only by a chain. It gave off such a faint glow that Will was only able to see things at eye level. Her head hung forward as the lyerdains left, leaving Will all on her own. A shiver went though her body. Once, a few years ago, she had been captured by Phobos, but she wasn't alone then. Now she was. She was alone, weak, and too broken to fight. She sighed. She just hoped her friends could get to her before Phobos got what he had captured her for.
****************
"What?!?! You just let them capture her?" Cornelia yelled at Caleb and Matt
"No. They surprised us. Will was still to weak to put up a worthy fight. The guard jumped from a building and tackled her to the ground. She tried to fight back, but Cedric got to her before we could." Caleb explained.
"Well, we have to go after, now." Cornelia continued.
"I know. But first we need to gather some supplies. We can't rely on brute force alone; We need to use stealth. With Will captured, you guys can't transform, thus putting us at a disadvantage."
Yan Lin descended the stairs quietly and piped in. "I have some weapons upstairs in the attic you can use. They will aid you in your rescue."
"Thanks Grandma." Hay Lin said.
"Right then, lets go." Matt said, as they all trooped upstairs to the attic where weapons and transportation awaited them.
***************
Hours passed in the cell which Will was trapped. In those hours, she had been calling verbally and mental to her friends. She assumed with the lack of reply that their telepathy didn't reach across different worlds. All the while, a sickening filling had been rising in her. She knew he friends could and would save her. But, would they get there in time? She shuttered at the thought.
Metal clanked against stone. An iron grate was lifted from the only entrance and exit of the prison cell. Will lifted her head, knowing who was coming down. Phobos. A wicked smile lit his face as he reached the bottom of the cell with a guard behind him. "After all this time, I finally have you. And I have the heart as well." He chuckled. "This is wonderful." He beamed down at Will. "I guess you can figure out why you are here guardian. I am going drain you of your precious power Will, and you will be left lifeless. But that is only if you are lucky. For your sake, I hope when I drain your power and that of the heart, you have a quick demise. It will save you the agony of living in this retched place." He chuckled again. "Good bye guardian. It was a pleasure fighting with you. But now, I take control and I win." He smiled again as he lifted his hands into the air. White lightning with a slight hint of purple shot from his hands and up into the rafters. With a sound of thunder, deep purple light fell from the heavens and evolved Will in the center. And evil laugh came forth from Phobos as Will was levitated into the air. The necklace from around her neck lifted away from her chest and into the air with Will's upper body following. Her back arched as the heart of Kandrakar became the center of attention. Will let out of cry of pain as the purple light penetrated the heart of Kandrakar and into her being.
***************
The little band of warriors walked across the land of Meridian. Blunk had managed to create a fold about one mile away from the castle. It was close enough so they didn't have to walk too far, yet far enough away that they would not be spotted. The sky was dark as always and the surrounding area was silent. It was unnerving. Up above, Matt had phased to Shagon and was silently flying ahead. He had volunteered to be their designated look out and scout.
The group had been walking for about an hour (due to the rough terrain) before Taranee stopped. She leaned against a nearby tree and placed a hand on her head. She winced as she took a few deep breaths. "What wrong Taranee?" Irma asked.
"It's Will." She said.
"What happened?"
"I don't know exactly. But whatever it is, she is in excruciating pain."
"Can we move any faster?" Irma cried as she began walking again. "Will doesn't have much time."
The others didn't move from their spot. They all stared at Irma.
"What?" She said again, confused as to why they didn't move. Then, her mouth opened, taking the form of an O as she watched her friends flicker from their human form to guardian form. She then looked down at herself.
"What's going on?" Hay Lin asked as they continued to jump back and forth.
"I think it's the heart." Cornelia said. "With Phobos draining the heart's power, it's causing us to shimmer."
The friends began walking again.
"We have to get to Will soon." Caleb said. "Phobos has already begun."
*****************
Will's body twitched this way and that as the power slowly began to fade from her body. Already she was flashing between her guardian and human form. In just a short while, she would cease to exist. In the distance, through ringing ears, she could hear Phobos laughing. She cringed at the sound. It was horrible screeching music to her ears. Will also heard something else. A distant voice calling to her. She was fearful at first, thinking it might be the light at the end of the tunnel. No, it was something else. Will let her mind follow the voice. Her mind drifted into limbo as her mind filed with a soft pink mist. Will opened her eyes. She was in her guardian form, standing in the central hall of Kandrakar. She looked around confused. "What am I doing here?"
Out of no where, Luba appeared. "Hello Will."
"Luba." She exclaimed. "What's going on?"
"You consciousness has entered the heart of Kandrakar to protect it from Phobos. It is a precaution, of a sort."
"But that doesn't make any sense Luba. Phobos is trying to drain the heart."
"That is true, but the heart has a fail safe. It will protect you."
"OK." She said, doubtful. But who knew? It could work.
"I must go now Will."
"Wai...."
With that, Luna vanished into thin air.
Will hunched her shoulders forward and sighed heavily as stands of her read hair flew upwards. "Great. Just great." She said quietly to herself. "Once again, I am left with as little information as possible." She groaned and began walking around the deserted halls. There was no on there. "Hello?" She called out. Her voice echoed back to her "This has got to be a figment of my imagination." Will said to herself. "If I was truly in the real Kandrakar, there would be others about... Maybe..." She sighed as she sat on the steps. "What am I supposed to do now? I can't fight from in here when the battle is out there."
Silence filled the air as Will thought. Truly, there was nothing she could do. She was helpless once again. "At least my consciousness is safe." She gave a half hearted laugh. "Yeah, right." She said quietly. Then, ever so quietly, she heard someone else calling her name. Will looked around. Then she realized it was Taranee. "Taranee?" She called out. "I'm safe." She paused for a moment before she quickly added, "OK, bad choice of words. Um... I'm trapped inside the heart of Kandrakar. I guess you could say." Will was silent as Taranee said they were now inside the castle. Will sighed in relief. But it quickly vanished as the light in the room grew darker. Time was almost up. Safe guard or not, Will had the uneasy feeling that she would soon be gone. Forever.
The other guardians quickly found where Will was being held. Standing just above the single opening, they all caught their breath when they saw Phobos down in the pit with Will. The sight of their friend was enough to want to make anyone vomit. It was truly a sickening sight.
"We need to make a diversion." Caleb said.
"Good idea." Blunk said. "But Blunk not diversion this time. Caleb be diversion."
"Don't worry Blunk, Matt and I will create a diversion while the other guardians rescue Will.
While the boys had been having their conversation, the girls continued glanced down in horror. Their friend was suspended in the air, suffering excruciating pain and dying, most likely. Hay Lin's eyes watered. She wanted to cry. But she bit her lip, forcing her sorrow down and her anger and courage to come forward. "Phobos is so going pay." She said, anger and venom dripping from her voice. Suddenly, Matt was beside her. He had prolonged his conversation with Caleb as long as possible, hoping to avoid looking down at Will. But he couldn't avoid it any longer. A wave of emotions washed over him as he saw his girlfriend suspended in the air and in pain. His knuckles turned white as he gripped the side of the rock face.
"Alright, let's go." Caleb said as he stood up and pushed Matt off the side. Matt yelled and fell though the air, coarse stones rushing up to meet him. Phobos looked up at the human boy falling from the sky. He cried out in surprise and anger. Then, at the last moment, Matt phased to Shagon and shot his laser vision Phobos. Moments later, Caleb made his move. Soon, all three men were engaged in battle.
The four other guardians, with Blunk, made their way down into the pit, careful to avoid Phobos' attention. They descended the steps quickly then stepped quietly on the ground near their friend, trying to think of what to do. "How are we supposed to get her down from there?" Cornelia asked.
"I have an idea." Taranee said as she shot two fire balls at the chains. It did nothing.
"Hay Lin, lets freeze them." Irma said as a fountain of water shot from her hands and at the chains. Taking a deep breath, Hay Lin blew freezing cold air. It clashed against Irma's fountain creating a thick layer of ice on the chains. Soon, a cracking sound came from above.
"Quick, Cornelia, see if you can though a rock at it or something.
"Earth!" Cornelia said quickly as she levitated rocks from the ground and hurled them at the chains. The left one broke, but the right one didn't budge.
"Oh, come on. Hurry, hurry." Hay Lin said.
"Blunk, make us a fold back to HQ." Irma commanded
"Yes funny girl." He replied to Irma as he scampered away to the far wall and created a fold. Phobos was so wrapped up in his fight with the Earth boy and rebal leader that it wasn't till the fold was created that he noticed the others trying to capture Will. "NO!" He cried as she shot lightning at the four girls. It was a mistake. The left over energy from his lightning went toward the chain, snapping it and cutting the purple light off. Will began to fall. Matt flew and caught her just before she hit the ground. The rest of the group rushed towards the fold. "Come on Caleb." Cornelia cried.
"I'm coming." He said. With Phobos momentarily distracted, he picked up one of the discarded rocks and threw it as hard as he could. There was a clanging sound as a purple orb fell from the sky. He jumped up to catch in and disappeared into the fold. "Close it, now!" Caleb cried as he tumbled though. The fold closed and everyone took a few moments to breath. Matt phased back to his human self and held Will gingerly in his arms. Her body was limp as Matt cradled her to his body. Caleb rushed upstairs to get Yan Lin. Once they were back, Matt placed Will on the cot gently and sat by her side. Yan Lin came over and asked, "What has happened?"
"Will said she was trapped inside the heart of Kandrakar. Well, at least her consciousness is." Taranee said.
"This is very interesting. I fear that with the power of Kandrakar out here in Caleb's hands, and Will trapped in a holding place of the heart, she may very well be lost to us. Forever."
In unison, the girls cried out No along with the guys.
"Well how to we get her back?" Matt cried.
"The only way is to replace the power of the heart back into its holding place. You could say a fair exchange. The power, for Will."
"So, how do we get the power back into the heart?" Caleb asked.
"I do not know. You will have to figure that out on your own." With that, Yan Lin left, leaving the others to think of a solution to their problem.
Author's Note: Here is the third installment. I hope you enjoy and it leaves you on the edge of your seats. =) Don't forget to tell me what you think.