Disclaimer: I do not own W.I.T.C.H. This is a work of fan fiction.
Season Three Episode Four: "Status Quo" Chapter Two
Meridian. The escape had been sudden. Vathic and his fellow prison guards were taken totally by surprise. One moment all was well. The next the prisoner was free and four men were immobilized. "Should we contact the Queen and the Guardians?" Julian asked him.
"No. It's not like the escapee is Cedric, or God forbid, Phobos. We can't turn to the Guardians every time the littlest thing goes wrong. We should be able to track and recapture this one ourselves."
"Alright. I'll have guards with tracking hounds ready in five minutes."
"Good. We're getting our little troublemaker back ourselves."
Kandrakar. Tom, Susan, and Dean walked the wide aisle ways with the four former Guardians. As they walked, they discussed the situation they now found themselves in. "I've decided to not try and stop Will from doing this. But for the life of me, I don't know why I'm allowing it." Susan said.
Yan Lin answered, "That's simple enough. If you did stop Will, what reason would you have for doing so?"
"Her safety of course."
"Exactly. And do you think, that just because I used to do this, I wouldn't be concerned for my granddaughter's safety, and stop her if I thought it would keep her safe?"
"You're saying stopping them wouldn't mean safety?" Susan asked.
"Exactly." Kadma answered. "What Yan Lin knows, you suspect unconsciously. That's why you haven't decided to stop Will."
Yan Lin said, "Yes indeed. It's like this: If these girls are not the Guardians, no one is. If there are no Guardians, evil forces the Guardians could have stopped are not stopped. They get stronger and stronger, until even the Guardians couldn't face them. Then they come for the Guardians' power."
"So if we stopped them to keep them safe, it would backfire." Tom said.
"Precisely."
"Okay," Dean said, "But what about not telling the other parents? It still seems wrong to me."
"Dean you heard what the Oracle said. They're safe from this Neera if they stay in the dark." Susan said. "We can't tell them for now, for their own safety."
Tom agreed. "I think the kid's plan on this one is best. We'll keep quiet, but watch them very closely for any sign Neera's agents are starting to work on them. If such signs show up, we'll decide how to proceed from there."
"It really is the best way to go." Cassidy said.
"Yeah. I suppose so."
Elsewhere in Kandrakar, the teens were relaxing as they discussed where things might go from here. "This might be the end of w.i.t.c.h." Will said. "At the very least, I'm gonna be grounded until I'm forty over this."
"I'm wondering how my dad's gonna deal with my punishment." Irma said. "It'll have to be something subtle that my mom won't even notice."
Caleb sat next to Cornelia. "I dunno. Maybe you're both looking at this the wrong way. They seem to be taking it really well so far."
"So far is the operant term. I think they're just in shock." Will said.
"At least they're talking to Granma." Hay Lin said. "If anyone can convince them, it's her."
Accompanied by the baying of tracking hounds, Vathic, Julian, and five prison guards followed the path the escapee had taken into the countryside. Attempts had been made early on to confuse pursuit by looping back over the path multiple times, but after awhile it became a straight course leading in a clear direction.
"Looks like we're heading for the Passling village." Julian said.
"Yeah, and I think I know why." Vathic answered.
Earth. Martin Tubbs sat on the edge of his bed. Removed his newest comics from the bag they were in. It was a good day to just lean back in bed and read. As he leaned against the pillow, he heard a crinkling sound. "What the heck?" he thought.
Martin looked under his pillow and found a package wrapped in heavy paper. Opening it, he found a VHS cassette tape and a note. The note was written in English, but clearly by a hand unaccustomed to the language. It read:
Martin,
I thought you'd like to know a little something about your beloved Irma. She's hiding her true self from you. Play the tape.
A friend.
"What is this all about?" Martin wondered. "And who uses VHS anymore? Oh well. Might as well see what this is about." He slid the tape into the long unused VCR and pressed play.
Varthan. Neera sighed deeply as she watched Martin watching the tape. It was really too bad that this wasn't good enough. Martin would mistake the tape for special effects, which meant his seeing wouldn't count as knowing. Still, it was a seed planted. His desire to learn how it was done would lead him to the truth.
Aljax seemed nervous. "What is wrong faithful servant?" Neera asked. "I have already told you, your services have made you too valuable to eat."
"It's not that my Queen. I just still fear we're wasting our time. The Water Guardian shows no sign of caring about this person at all."
"Trust your Queen Aljax. She loves him, even if she cannot admit it to herself. It is just a matter of making her realize that just as he is learning the truth about her…"