Welcome back to the Pit, my friends. Look, I updated quicker this time. I would like to thank my reviewers: XV Dragon (Sane is not something I purport to be, my friend grin); Starwin (Thank you so much for your thoughts...I enjoy reading your reviews because of the insights); Nemrut (Irma was pretty stupid, wasn't she...); Lost Prince (In answer to your question, yes Corny destroyed Gargoyle in WPL. Nerissa put him back together); Nightroad (Wonder why Nerissa accepted such a duel...hmm); Darkyes (Glad to see you're enjoying the story. Thank you so much for your thoughts); Darev (You have great faith in Irma...hope she has as much in herself); Heart of the Demons (Thanks for your comments, I'm glad to be a part of Witch Space); ZestyChicken2 (Hope the family's okay by the end); Wolfgurl211 (I hope Irma wins too...hehe); Cartoonloverfan101 (Good old fashioned duel...could be fun); AJ (Another cute review. Glad to see Irma is happier with me now); Invader Spyder (Welcome back, my friend. I have missed you); Nerd4eva (Pure water form, that would've been fun); DayDreamer9 (Irma is okay...for now, anyway).
Thank you all from the bottom of my heart. I appreciate that you took the time to leave your thoughts.
And now, on with the show. Without further ado, may I present:
Chapter 15
Nerissa strode around her newest lair, a simple abandoned mine on the outskirts of Meridian. Seeing as she had been imprisoned for decades in a cave, the old woman felt somehow at home in the immovable confines of rock and stone.
She prowled like a great cat around the mine, her head whirring with ideas. The Water brat had been foolish to challenge the might of Nerissa; what chance did she possibly have against the greatest sorceress the universe had ever known? What power could she call on that would protect her from the awesome might of the Heart of Meridian? And to set Candracar as the venue...did she think that having her allies present would somehow buoy up her strength? It was madness.
So why had she done it?
Nerissa could think of only one reason...to save her friends. The Guardians had not been faring well in that last battle and perhaps the brat had felt cornered. Perhaps she had felt desperate enough to throw down a ridiculous gauntlet, hoping it would not be retrieved. Yes, that had to be it. A desperate attempt to buy her friends time to recover sufficiently to turn the tide of the battle. She had never expected Nerissa to accept the challenge...not really.
But Nerissa had accepted the challenge, and she had done so almost gleefully. To finally rid herself of the nuisance that had plagued her for so many weeks...it was an opportunity she couldn't pass up. For truly what chance did the brat have?
Nerissa strode into a large chamber full of old and broken mining tools, split rocks, and a thick coating of dust on the ground. It was time for her therapy. For the last several days, Nerissa had been unable to vent her frustrations on the real Water Guardian...so she had found a substitute. It was almost like the real thing...except the Astral Drop didn't scream.
"Time for a little modification," Nerissa cooed.
She approached a corner where wooden support beams prevented cave-ins. Shackled to one of the beams was the Water Guardian's Astral Drop, her hands suspended above her head and her toes barely scraping the filthy ground. She looked at her captor with uncomprehending eyes, oblivious to her predicament. No amount of punishment the evil witch inflicted could alter her unflappable demeanor for one obvious reason...Astral Drops felt no pain.
Nerissa stopped in front of the unfortunate Drop and raised her staff. She intoned a few words under her breath and then a beam of emerald green light shot out from the Heart of Meridian. It engulfed the Astral Drop for several seconds then, gradually, dissipated. As the light faded, the Drop stared with new comprehension at her captor.
"Where...where am I? Who are you?"
"I am Nerissa, child, and I have given you life."
"Given me life? What do you mean?"
"Life, child, life. I have made you a living, breathing, Altarmere."
The former Astral Drop struggled against her bonds, straining to understand what was going on.
"Please, can you help me? I'm so cold."
Nerissa smiled evilly and raised her hand.
"Then let me warm things up for you."
The Altarmere screamed as the lightning struck her.
–
"You're crazy and that's all there is to it."
Cornelia was resting in her Elemental Chamber after receiving a beat-down from Gargoyle. Her arm and ribs had healed, but the Earth Guardian still felt weak and tired. Will, Hay Lin, and Taranee had just explained what Irma had done, and Cornelia was livid.
"How could you be so reckless, Irma? To risk your entire family in a fight you can't win! It's just...it's stupid and selfish!"
Irma sat hugging her knees, her chin resting on them. She had listened to Cornelia's berating for half-an-hour now, and she honestly had nothing to say. Truth be told, she agreed with her blond friend. She had been reckless and selfish, and looking back, she had no idea what had possessed her to throw out such a ridiculous challenge. Nerissa was more powerful than her on Irma's best day, and she held a Heart. What chance did Irma truly have of winning?
Unfortunately, there was no going back now. The deal had been struck and permission magic was in place. The Council of Candracar was barred from interfering, as were the other Guardians. Irma would have no help, and she took little comfort from the fact that Nerissa would be alone, as well. After all, the sorceress didn't really need any help. She was a one-woman wrecking crew all by herself.
"Add to that the fact that your parents and Chris don't even know what's about to hit them, and you have a real winner. Way to let the fit hit the shan, Irma."
That was enough. Irma's head snapped up.
"Don't you think I've thought about all of this, Cornelia? I know what I did was reckless and stupid; I know, okay? But what I really need right now is a way to beat Nerissa, not you bawling me out for being an idiot."
"And what could we possibly offer as a strategy, here? Lighting wipes the floor with water. One hit and you'll be down for the count, Irma. Two and you'll be foaming at he mouth. Three and you'll be dead. Dead, dead, DEAD!"
"Cornelia, that's enough," Will said, as Irma's eyes began to fill with tears. "That's no way to talk to a friend."
"What other way is there right now?" Cornelia asked, her hands spread wide. "She did a stupid thing and screwed her entire family in the process."
"She's scared and needs our help right now," Will said. "Yelling at her and insulting her isn't going to help. We have to find a way to fix this."
Cornelia was about to retort, when she suddenly closed her mouth. Will was tight...Irma needed help, not insults. The young Water Guardian was obviously terrified and backed into a corner. What kind of friend would she be if she abandoned the frightened girl in her most desperate time of need?
"You're right, Will," Cornelia said. "I'm sorry I lost control. I'm scared, too; that's all."
"I know," Will said gently, laying a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder. "We all are. But we have to think now. It's going to take all of us to get out of this."
"But how?" Hay Lin asked. "We all know permission magic is binding; we can't interfere and neither can the Council. What are we going to do?"
It was hard to hear the despair in Hay Lin's voice; she was always the optimistic one. But Taranee knew these were extenuating circumstances, and for the first time, she was up against a problem that seemed to have no solution.
"Okay, let's review what we know about permission magic," Taranee suggested.
"Well, we know it's binding and to go against it means instant death," Cornelia said.
"What if we could somehow trick Nerissa into going against it?" Hay Lin said.
"How?" Will asked.
Hay Lin was silent for a moment, the sudden spark in her eyes gradually disappearing. "I have no idea," she finally admitted.
"Well, what were the terms, again?" Cornelia asked.
Will explained. "No interference from the KOV, the Council of Candracar, or from us, the Guardians. It's Irma versus Nerissa, one-on-one. If Nerissa wins, she gets Irma and her family. If Irma wins, Nerissa gets the boot from the Council and never bothers the universe again."
"So it's like Thunderdome only with consequences affecting the entire universe," Cornelia stated.
Will nodded. "That would about sum it up."
"We have to turn this around on Nerissa somehow," Hay Lin said, pounding her fist into her palm. "We can't let Irma do this alone."
"She won't be alone," Taranee said. "We'll all be there with her."
"But we won't be able to help her...not directly, anyway," Hay Lin despaired.
"We need to meet with the Council," Taranee suggested. "Maybe they can help."
"Yeah, because they've done such a bang-up job so far," Cornelia scoffed.
"Maybe, but Taranee's right. They have to know more about this permission magic stuff than we do," Will said.
"You really think they might be able to help?" Irma asked hopefully.
"I don't know," Will said quietly. "But they certainly can't hurt. Let's go talk to them now."
–
The Irma Altarmere screamed again as the lightning struck once more.
"What have I ever done to you?" she wailed.
Nerissa lowered her hand and stared up into the Altarmere's eyes. "Oh it wasn't you, my dear. You are merely a substitute for the real thing. But I'm afraid I need to vent my frustrations, and so you must suffer."
The witch raised her hand and the torture continued.
–
In the Council Chamber, the Oracle met with his advisors. Althor, Tibor, Yan Lin, and Halinor tuned their ears for every word he might speak.
"We shall begin in a moment," the Oracle said, regarding his friends. "I have asked Luba to summon the Guardians. I believe they should be a part of this."
Tibor inclined his big head, but said nothing. He did not feel the same affections for the Guardians that the rest of the Council seemed to hold. He believed in remaining distant from them as they could need replacing at any instance. For all his years and everything he had witnessed, he could see no way out of this predicament. The Water Guardian had invoked permission magic without even knowing she had done so. As such, she was barred from any assistance during the duel.
Halinor and Yan Lin sat close together, muttering back and forth to one another. Of all the members of the Council, they felt the closest to the girls; Yan Lin being Hay Lin's grandmother, and Halinor having developed a motherly tenderness towards Irma. They both loved the Guardians, and neither one could see a way out of the current situation. It seemed their loved-ones were about to be taken from them.
Althor sat alone, preferring the silence as a companion. He wasn't known for his great mind, but he had a gift for pointing out the obvious. He felt less than adequate as an advisor, and sometimes questioned his very position on the Council. But all those feelings of inadequacy needed to be put aside for the moment. The Guardians were in trouble, and they would need all the help they could get.
The rosy doors opened, and Luba strode into the Council Chamber with all five Guardians in tow. The Caretaker sat near the door and motioned for the Guardians to stand near the middle of the Chamber, near the Oracle. As the girls approached their place, Halinor and Yan Lin fell silent. The Chamber was as quiet as a tomb.
"Thank you for coming," the Oracle smiled. "We shall move directly to the business at hand. Permission magic has been invoked, and the Water Guardian is faced with a duel between herself and Nerissa. As such, we are barred from interfering in any way. We can neither help the Guardian, nor hinder her enemy."
"But there has to be some way around it," Will said desperately. "Irma didn't even know she had invoked permission magic. Doesn't that count for anything?"
The Oracle shook his head. "It does not, Guardian. Permission magic has been invoked...there is no way around that."
"What if we attack Nerissa before tomorrow?" Taranee said. "What if we could take her out before she has a chance to get to this duel?"
"And where will you begin your search for her, Guardian?" Tibor asked. "She could be hiding anywhere. Will you search the entire universe?"
"If we have to," Cornelia said.
"There won't be time for you to do that," Tibor said. "Nerissa is an expert at concealment. With the Heart of Meridian, she could even take on a different guise. She could be right next to you and you wouldn't even know it."
"But we have to do something," Hay Lin wailed. "We can't let Irma do this alone."
"We have been in council for the past several hours," the Oracle said. "We can find no way around this predicament. It would seem the Water Guardian shall duel the Queen of Evil tomorrow."
"So that's it?" Cornelia said, folding her arms. "You're just going to give up? What kind of Council are you?"
"Why you insolent-"
The Oracle held up his hand. "Silence, Tibor," he said gently. "Let the Guardian speak."
Tibor fell silent, but crossed his arms in a display of frustration.
Cornelia continued. "We can't just give up. Sorry, Irma, but you don't have a chance in hell of beating Nerissa...not when she has a Heart. We're all but accepting her death, here."
"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence," Irma muttered.
"I'm not questioning your heart, Irma," Cornelia explained. "I'm just trying to be realistic. I've no doubt you'll give that bitch a run for her money, but in the end...I mean the five of us together have trouble with her. None of us would last against her alone."
"Look, I appreciate all you guys are trying to do, but I got myself into this situation. I need to see it through. I'm going to fight Nerissa tomorrow, and I'm going to do everything I can to beat her. If I can win, we'll finally be rid of her forever. None of you can possibly understand how much I need that."
Irma stepped forward then and looked the Oracle in the eye. "Oracle, I need your permission to do something."
The Oracle smiled gently. "I believe I know what you're going to ask. The secrecy you live under is designed to be a protection for you; but in this case it has deserted you. I believe you wish to tell your family who you really are?"
Irma nodded. "They deserve to know what's about to happen and what's been going on for the past months."
"I agree with you, Guardian. And permission is granted."
"Thank you, Oracle," Irma said. She turned then to her friends. "I want to spend what little time I may have left with my family. But I would appreciate it if you would all accompany me home so we can explain this whole Guardian thing."
As one, the girls nodded. "Of course," they chorused.
"I thank you all for trying, but I need to face the facts...Nerissa and I are going to meet and that's final. She's going to get the fight of her life, and I can guarantee I won't go quietly."
Hay Lin stepped forward and hugged her best friend. "And whatever happens, we'll be there...right to the end."
"I know you will, Hay-Hay...I know you will." The two girls began to cry then as the situation finally seemed real. All that was about to happen suddenly seemed like a speeding freight train, unstoppable in its murderous trek.
The other three Guardians gathered around in a circle and joined in a group hug. Soon they were all crying as reality broke upon them like waters breaking a dam. The Council members let the girls cry...for what else could they do?
–
It was 9:00 PM when the Guardians arrived back on earth. In human form, they dried their tear-streaked faces and trekked to Irma's house. No one said a word...there seemed nothing to say. Each girl was lost on her own thoughts.
Hay Lin, ever the optimist, felt completely hopeless for the first time in her life. She was about to lose her best friend...a girl that was more like a sister, really. She couldn't see how Irma could possibly force Nerissa to submit, not when the evil witch had so much power at her command. And if Nerissa won, Hay Lin would never see her sister again. She would be out of their reach forever.
Cornelia stalked along angrily. She believed had she been conscious when the deal had been struck, she would have made a difference. She could have talked Irma out of it. In her mind, Cornelia blamed the other Guardians for not stopping the situation before it spiraled out of control. Irma could almost be forgiven, given the fact that she was out of her mind these days. But still, the blame had to lie with someone, and this time it wasn't with Nerissa. Cornelia sighed...she couldn't blame her friends at a time like this. They needed to pull together. The blond Guardian stuck out her chin and vowed to be strong for Irma.
Taranee wracked her brain. There had to be something they could do. Something they had missed. Something that was waiting to be discovered; but she couldn't think of it. This problem had the brainy girl stumped and she didn't like that feeling at all. She had always been able to reason her way out of anything, and she was not about to be stopped now.
Will kept glancing at Irma. The girl's lower lip was quivering, and tears glistened at the edges of her beautiful eyes. Will thought she knew what Irma was thinking...how would she break the news of her impending death to her family? How would she tell them they were part of the deal, too? Will knew the gravity of the situation had just hit her watery friend, and she longed to comfort her. But Will could think of nothing to say. Truth be told, she felt responsible for all of this. Had she been able to defeat Nerissa in that last battle, Irma would never have felt cornered, and would never have made that awful deal. As Leader of the Guardians, Will felt responsible for every failure...and now there was nothing she could do to save her friend's life.
Irma fought tears. She was determined not to cry in front of her family and friends. She knew she had only one chance to defeat Nerissa, and that was to draw all the moisture out of her body. But that little trick took time and Irma had to be completely still to pull it off. It took so much concentration, that moving around would simply be too distracting. One lightning bolt would likely put an end to the fight before it really began, and Irma decided she would need to find a way to incapacitate the sorceress while she bled her dry. It would be her only chance.
Her thoughts turned to her parents. They would be so disappointed that things had worked out like this, and that their only daughter had gambled with their lives. They would be even more outraged to learn what had truly happened to their daughter weeks ago. If Irma survived the duel, she had no doubt her family would move away from Heatherfield to keep their child safe from monsters like Nerissa. She would be parted from her friends forever. Either way, win or lose, her life was effectively over. Nevertheless, her family deserved to know what was about to happen to them, and Irma refused to keep them from it.
As they approached the Lair household, Irma wasn't really surprised to see police cars outside. It had been over a day since she had been taken by Raythor, and her policeman father wouldn't simply sit by and let his daughter be missing. She wondered what he was truly thinking right now...and she began to tremble.
Hay Lin noticed her friend shivering and put her arm around her shoulders. She could guess what was going in her sister's head, and she didn't envy her one bit. Mrs. Lair was likely to take the news with a mixture of shock and revulsion, but Mr. Lair...he was likely to fly off the handle and be angry. Hay Lin didn't think Irma could handle anyone yelling at her right now.
Finally the friends began to cross the lawn and were stopped by a police officer in Heatherfield blue.
"This is private property, kids. You'll have to-"
The officer stopped in mid-sentence as he recognized Tom Lair's daughter.
"Miss Lair! I can't believe it; you're here. Please come inside. Your parents are worried sick."
"I know the way, Officer," Irma said. "I can take myself inside."
The officer nodded and stood aside.
The five friends crossed the lawn and stood on the front porch. Irma held her breath as she placed her hand on the doorknob. An eternity seemed to pass as she slowly turned the handle and pushed the door open.
Four heads looked up at the sound. Tom Lair's mouth fell open and Anna stood up immediately. The two detectives stared stupidly.
"Oh my gosh...Irma!" Anna ran to her daughter and caught her in a hug. Tom was not far behind his wife as he embraced them both. The parents cried with joy at seeing their daughter alive and well. Feeling awkward, the two detectives excused themselves, closing the door behind them.
For several minutes, the Lair's held each other, all three crying in one another's arms. When at last they broke apart, Anna was the first to speak.
"We were so worried," she said, covering her mouth with her fingers. "We thought we'd lost you."
Irma's eyes teared up even more as she shook her head "I'm right here, mom."
"What happened, baby?" Tom asked. "When we saw the window open we thought you had run away or been kidnapped." His eyes lit on the four friends behind his daughter before holding Irma's. "What happened?"
"Oh daddy," Irma said, sniffling through her tears, "I didn't run away. I would never do that to you and mom."
"Then you were abducted?" Tom asked, his protective nature starting to inflect his voice.
Irma nodded. "Yes, daddy, I was taken."
"Who did it? I'll kill the bastard!"
Irma hung her head as she wracked her brain for the best way to explain. "Mom, dad, I need you both to sit down. I need to explain something to you, and it won't be easy to hear."
"Oh my gosh...he raped you didn't he?!"
"No, mom, I'm fine. Nobody hurt me...in that way. Just please, sit down and let me explain."
The parents nervously took seats on the couch. Irma's friends moved to stand beside her, lending their support in any way they could.
Irma took a deep breath. "First of all, I want you both to know how much I love you. You've always done your best to give me the best of everything, and I will never forget that."
"Irma, you're scaring me," Anna said, her hand moving to hold Tom's.
"I don't want you guys to be scared, but I need to tell you what's really been going on. I can't cover the truth anymore; you deserve to know."
Both parents gazed at their daughter, concern growing in their eyes.
"Mom, dad, I'm one-fifth of a team of girls known as Guardians. We all have power over a specific element...mine is water. I can control it, summon it, shoot it; anything having to do with water, I can do. These girls are my teammates and together we battle people who want to do us harm."
Anna and Tom blinked stupidly...then blinked again. They looked at one another, then back to their daughter.
"Is this a joke?" Tom finally asked. "It's in really poor taste if it is, Irma Lair."
Irma shook her head. "No, dad, it's not a joke. I can prove it if you'll let me."
Mr. Lair folded his arms skeptically and nodded. "Let's see it, then."
Irma looked at Will, who nodded firmly.
"Guardians, unite!"
In a flash of rose-colored light, five young girls became five young women. Tom and Anna dropped their jaws and stared incredulously at the winged beings before them.
"What the hell is this?" Tom demanded, rising slowly from the couch. "What are you?"
"I'm your daughter, dad," Irma said quietly, bowing her head and closing her eyes. "Your daughter who happens to have the power to control water and an obligation to use that power for the good of all."
With that, Irma held up her hand, palm up, and produced a tiny fountain of water. It danced and played in her palm like a sprightly nymph.
Next, Cornelia directed her powers at a budding plant on the coffee table. Immediately, flowers began to sprout and bloom.
"I have power over Earth," she explained.
Hay Lin produced a tiny whirlwind in the palm of her hand. As she spun a finger above it, she couldn't help but grin slightly.
"My power is Air," she said brightly.
"And mine is Fire," Taranee said. She held her hands apart and caused a small fireball to float between them. The flame reflected in her glasses.
Finally, Will spoke up. "My power is called Quintessence. Essentially, it's the power over pure energy."
With that, she spread her thumb and forefinger apart. Within seconds, a tiny sprig of lightning began to dance between her fingers. Irma swallowed involuntarily.
The girls extinguished their creations and all eyes turned to Irma. The Water Guardian looked at the floor once more.
"We use these powers to battle the forces of evil in the universe," she explained quietly. "It's our responsibility to protect all that's good from all that's evil."
Silence...long, pregnant silence. The father had collapsed back onto the couch, dumbstruck. The mother remained motionless, emotionally impassive.
After what seemed several minutes, Irma couldn't stand the silence anymore.
"Say something, please."
Tom scrubbed his face with his hand. "What do you want us to say, Irma? Things like this just aren't real, aren't possible, and yet here they are staring me in the face. All your life I've worked to protect you and to keep you safe. But with these powers you hardly need that protection, do you..."
Irma crossed the room in a few strides. She fell to her knees in front of her father and took his strong hands in hers.
"Dad, don't say that. I will never stop needing you. Don't you understand? I'm still your daughter. I'm still a fourteen year-old girl who loves her daddy and needs him now more than ever. I'm still Irma Lair. I may be this kick-ass super being with a smashing new wardrobe, but inside I'm still just a kid. Can you understand that?"
"I don't know, Irma; it's so much to take in. My baby girl seems all grown up before her time. Seeing you like this...it's overwhelming. I can't believe it and, yet, I have to. But I want you to know you'll always be my little girl...no matter what."
The big police sergeant placed his hands on either side of his daughter's face and gently kissed her forehead. Irma closed her eyes and reveled in the attention. How she wished this moment could last forever...and that the last several weeks had never happened. How she wished that things could just go back to normal.
Tom let go of his daughter and she stood up. She looked to her mother, who continued to sit motionless on the couch beside her husband.
"Mom?"
Anna's eyes began to fill with tears, then. "Who did this to you? Who made you into this Guardian?"
"We're watched over by a group of individuals known as the Council of Candracar," Irma explained. "They're led by a man called the Oracle. He's a really powerful guy with no hair. Then there's Althor, a little dwarf-dude. And Tibor who guards the Oracle. Halinor is a former Fire Guardian. Then there's Luba. She's a cat-like woman who guards the Aurameres, the source of our powers. And...and..." Irma hesitated.
"And Yan Lin," Hay Lin finished. "She used to have my job, but then it passed on to me."
"Yan Lin has known this whole time?" Anna asked incredulously.
Irma nodded, looking worriedly at her mother. She didn't seem to be taking this well.
"How could she not have told us?" Anna thundered. "Why would she keep this from us?"
"Secrecy is important for what we do," Will explained. "If our enemies knew who we truly were, they would come after our friends and families. The fewer people who know the truth, the better protected everyone is."
"So you kept this a secret to protect us..." Anna's words were more a statement than a question.
Irma nodded, more worried than ever.
"You said you were going to tell us what's been going on over the last few weeks," Anna said, her face returning to a stony mask.
"Mom, I don't understand. What's the matter?"
"What's the matter? What's the matter! My daughter is out there fighting who-knows-what with her friends while we sit at home completely oblivious. Do the other parents know about this?"
Irma shook her head.
"Well that's going to change tonight," Anna said.
"Mom, you can't! We told you, it's for your own prote-"
"Our own protection, yes, I heard you. But do you really think you have the right to do something like this at such a young age? Do you really think that I will stand by and let my daughter put herself in harm's way? You're fourteen years old! You need to be worrying about acne and homework, not giant bugs, or brain-sucking aliens, or whatever-it-is you fight out there."
"Mom, it's our responsibility to-"
"To respect your parents' wishes, young lady. You still live under this roof, and while you do, you will obey your parents. And right now...this parent forbids you to go off on this Guardian bullcrap."
Irma felt like she had been punched in the stomach. She looked at her father, who was staring at his wife.
"Anna, please, you need to calm down a little. Irma's making a great sacrifice to tell us this, and I think we should listen to everything she has to say before we make any judgments."
"I don't need to hear anymore, Tom. She could be hurt or worse. Does this Council help you in any way? Do they participate in these conflicts?"
"Their job is to watch over the events of the universe," Taranee spoke up. "They're silent observers only. They guard our Aurameres, but we're the soldiers."
"In other words, they're no help at all. They sit up in their little world and let children do their fighting. Who decided this was a good idea?"
Hay Lin spoke up. "We don't go into this unprepared. We practice with our powers all the time. We're pretty good at what we do, Mrs. Lair."
"But you don't have any backup," Tom said.
"We are our own backup," Will said. "Apart, we're weaker. Because of this, we always stay together."
"I don't care. I don't care about any of it," Anna said, throwing her hands up and letting them fall back into her lap. "I won't be a party to my daughter getting hurt. I won't!"
"It's not up to you," Irma said sharply. "I was chosen and this is a responsibility I take very seriously. I love what I do, and I love these girls. We serve a great purpose and you have no right to take that from everyone in the world."
"No right?" Anna almost laughed. "I am your mother. I have every right to want to keep you safe. What's so wrong about that?"
"There's nothing wrong with it," Irma said, her eyes narrowing. "But you need to understand that this is my job. No one else can do what I do. If I'm not with them, then these girls are much weaker. Because of that, they run a great risk of getting hurt. Do you want that on your conscience?"
"I want my daughter to be safe."
"I want to be safe, too, mom. But sometimes we have to take risks to protect people. Sometimes...sometimes things don't go according to plan."
Irma stopped then and hugged herself. She turned her back and walked over to the window. Red and blue lights reflected on her face from the police cars still awaiting orders outside.
"You wanted to know what's been happening," Irma said softly, afraid to utter the words. "I need you both to promise me you'll hear me out before you yell at me."
Tom and Anna looked at one another, worry reflected in both pairs of eyes.
"Honey, nothing could make us love you less," Tom said. "You know that, don't you?"
Irma nodded, not really sure she believed that at the moment.
"Then please, tell us what happened," Sergeant Lair said.
Irma swallowed hard and looked at the floor. She closed her eyes as memories she wished would have remained buried flooded to the surface.
"The truth is, somebody hurt me...she hurt me badly. She's hurting me still. Her name is Nerissa. She's a former Guardian who went really bad. She killed one of her teammates, so the Council locked her up in a cave. She escaped and swore vengeance. She wants the Heart of Candracar. To make a long story short, that's a jewel Will carries that grants us a boost to our powers and allows us to transform into Guardians. Without it, we practically have no powers, and would cease to exist as Guardians."
Irma took a deep breath and plunged on.
"With the Heart of Candracar, Nerissa would be practically unstoppable, so it's vital that she never gets it. But she will go to any lengths to capture it. Which is where I come in."
The young Guardian swallowed hard and continued.
"During one of our missions, we were ambushed by Nerissa's goons. They're called the Knights of Vengeance, or the KOV. They separated me from the group, ganged up on me, and managed to capture me. They drug me back to their lair and held me prisoner for nearly a week. They...they..."
Irma held her face in her hand, as she struggled to continue.
"They tortured me. They beat me, they cut me, they whipped me, they burned me. They tried to pull off my wings. And Nerissa...Nerissa electrocuted me with lightning. My affinity with water makes me particularly vulnerable to lightning. I've never felt so much pain. So...much...pain."
"They wanted me to call out to Taranee, to lead my friends into an ambush. Taranee is telepathic, so she would have been able to hear me. I didn't want them to be captured, so I took it. I took the pain and the humiliation...until I couldn't anymore. They broke me; they broke me completely, and I called out for help."
"My friends managed to rescue me, but the damage was already done. My heart stopped, but Will revived me. She took me to Candracar where I underwent something called the Joining. In essence, it healed my injuries and brought me back from death...but I paid a terrible price. See, during the Joining, I had to relive everything that had happened to me. I didn't know I was safe on Candracar; I thought I was still with Nerissa and still being tortured. It sort of messed up my head."
"But that wasn't the worst part. Somehow, Nerissa infiltrated Candracar by impersonating a supposed ally. She cast some kind of curse on me that allowed her to enter my mind. She messed with it for weeks, even being able to cause physical injuries from afar. I could hear voices, feel pain, despair. You name it...if it was bad, I felt it. I became a walking time-bomb, ready to explode at any moment."
"I began to distrust everyone, and I had myself convinced everybody was out to get me. I felt my friends were somehow in on the whole plan; that they had allowed me to be captured in the first place. I felt like they wanted to be rid of me and that I should just accommodate them. I turned suicidal and developed Post Traumatic Stress Disorder."
"Then we were ambushed again by the KOV, and they managed to down every last one of us. Nerissa threatened to take me again if I didn't give her the Heart of Candracar. The Heart can't be taken by force; it has to be given willingly. Nerissa hoped that by using the right threats, I would ask Will for the Heart and then turn it over to her. But before that could happen, we were rescued by our friends."
"Nerissa's whole elaborate plan played out over weeks. She needed it to in order to break me enough so I would cooperate in the end. She might have won, too, if not for our friends. One of those friends buried Nerissa alive under tons of snow. We thought that old witch was gone forever."
"But now she's back and she wants revenge against me. The KOV are the ones who took me; they took me for Nerissa. They beat me, and Nerissa tried to kill me, but Will saved my life again. During this time, Will and I were separated from Taranee, Cornelia, and Hay Lin. Those three were almost captured but Will and I showed up to save the day. There was a fight, and we were losing, so I challenged Nerissa to a duel in order to stop her from destroying my friends. She accepted, and we set the terms of victory."
Irma hugged herself tighter and silent tears began to roll down her cheeks. "If I win, Nerissa submits to the judgment of the Council and never bothers us again. If I lose, Nerissa gets to take me...and my family, and exact her revenge. There can be no interference from the Guardians, the Council, or the KOV. This duel happens tomorrow on Candracar."
The young woman turned to face her parents. She could see their cheeks were wet with tears. "I don't know what I was thinking. I had no right to gamble with your lives like that. I'm so sorry...can you ever forgive me for keeping the truth from you?"
Too shocked to speak, Tom simply rose from the couch and approached his daughter. He folded her into a rough hug, squeezing her tighter than was necessary. Irma cried into her father's shoulder, hugging him back for all she was worth.
Anna rose, then, and approached the twosome. She threw her arms around them as well.
"Oh, Irma, of course we forgive you," Anna said. "After what you've just told us, and the way I reacted, I can see why you wouldn't want to say anything. The real question is can you forgive me for being so unsupportive?"
Those words just made Irma cry harder.
"We're going to be with you every step of the way," Tom said. "We're going with you to this Candracar and we'll see who hurts my daughter."
Irma pulled away sharply. "Dad, no. I won't be able to concentrate if you and mom are there. Please, I need you to stay here and try to protect yourselves if things go bad. If I lose, then the KOV will come for you. You've got to fight to stay away from them. Please, promise me you'll stay away from Candracar."
"Baby, we don't even know how to get there," Anna said, stroking her daughter's cheek. "If you don't take us with you, what choice will we have?"
Irma snuggled into her mother's hand, relishing the warmth of her skin. "I just need to be able to concentrate on what I'm doing tomorrow. I need to know you'll at least have a chance to escape her if I lose."
"But you won't lose," Tom said reassuringly. "You're a cop's daughter, and you have good instincts. I believe you can, and will, win this duel."
Irma smiled at her father and decided not to burst his bubble by telling him she really had little chance of winning.
Will produced the Heart of Candracar and changed her friends back to their human forms. She approached the threesome and looked up at Tom.
"Mr. Lair, I'm the leader of the Guardians. As such, I feel responsible for what happened to Irma. I promise you, we'll be there to offer her our best support and make sure there's no interference. And if she loses, we'll never stop until we've rescued her from Nerissa. I promise you this."
"We all do," the other girls chorused.
The Lair family felt a sense of overwhelming gratitude. Irma, in particular, was grateful for her friends' support. She felt that even if she did lose, perhaps it wasn't the end of the world. After all, where could Nerissa hide that the Guardians wouldn't find her?
"Guys, I think we should head home and let the Lair's have some peace," Will said.
But before the girls could agree, Anna spoke up. "Wait a moment. You said you were held for a week by this Nerissa. I would certainly have noticed if my daughter were gone for a week."
"Oh," Irma said, "that would be the Astral Drop. The Heart allows us to make exact copies of ourselves. They're not our mental equals, and they don't have powers, but they look like us. They're called Astral Drops. We've used them in the past take our places when we've had to leave for a while. Will sent mine home while I was with Nerissa."
"An Astral Drop?" Tom questioned. "You mean we were fooled by some soulless thing? How did we miss that?"
"Well, why would you be looking for something out of place?" Irma shrugged.
Tom nodded as though satisfied with that answer.
"It seems we have a lot to talk about," Anna said. "Somehow I don't think there will be much sleeping tonight. I have so many questions."
"That's our cue, people," Will said.
Each of the girls nodded and moved to hug Irma before they left. As the door closed behind Hay Lin, Irma's heart sunk a little. Truth was she felt less safe without her friends. She knew she had no realistic chance of winning the duel tomorrow. She could only hope her friends would be able to protect her family from Nerissa and the KOV.
–
Thanks for reading, kids. I appreciate your time and attention. If you should feel so inclined, I would love to hear your thoughts. Thank you all and have a wonderful life.