Disclaimer: I do not own W.I.T.C.H. This is a work of fan fiction.
Season Three Episode Fourteen: "Dominators, UNITE!" Chapter Five.
Varthan. The Dominators returned to Neera's palace, fully anticipating a nasty punishment for their failure in battle. Instead, the Dark Queen simply said 'And so now you see. The Guardians are strong and experienced. You must grow in power if you are to defeat them."
"Okay, okay. We get you on that." Judas said. "But why-"
Uriah interrupted him. "-But why didn't you tell us they were kids from our school? I almost flipped when I saw Irma! And then Matt has powers too?"
Neera let out a loud and harsh laugh. "Little fools. War is what you make of it. You can't know all the answers in advance. This was as good a way as any to illustrate that point for you."
"The Dark Queen is correct." Aljax told them. "You gather what intel you can, but in the fog of war things can change quickly. New information previously missed can alter everything. Alter it for you, or against you."
"Okay, we get your point. So I have some questions for the purpose of 'gathering what intel I can:' Like, for example, if our powers are based on theirs, why are there six of them and only five of us?" Courtney asked.
Neera smiled. "Very good young servant. Observant, and a valid question. There are normally only five Guardians. Queen Elyon's position is a special circumstance.
The five teens looked at each other with their mouths open in surprise. Looked back to Neera. "QUEEN!" they all exclaimed…
Earth. As was becoming common since the start of Neera's machinations, a meeting of the Guardians and their friends was held in Will's apartment. Those not yet in the know about the Dominators were brought up to speed. "That's what this has all been about?" Dean asked. "She just wanted her own Guardians?"
"Dark, twisted, brainwashed Guardians." Will said.
"You've got to do something." Alchemy said. "I know they're jerks anyway, but they can't be left like this."
"We're not gonna leave them like this Al." Cornelia replied. "We'll figure out something. We just don't know what yet…"
"The powers will be the real trouble of course." Dean said. "If you could capture them, take away the power, well, brainwashing can be deprogrammed."
"How could we get rid of the power though?" Will wondered.
"They must have Aura Mirrors, or some equivalent, to transfer Neera's power into them." Taranee answered. "Maybe we should try to find and destroy those."
Miranda said "I can tell you from personal experience that destroying one of those things is easier said than done. Actually, I kind of suspect it really can't be done at all."
"Back to square one then." Taranee said…
Varthan. The Dominators tried to accept what Neera had told them. "Elyon is the Queen of Meridian?" Uriah stammered. "But, that Miranda girl said the Queen was safe in her palace!"
"She lied to you. Lied to protect her Queen. A somewhat noble gesture, really."
"What secrets people have been keeping from us." Sandra observed.
"You set us up." Bess accused Neera. "You knew all along that the results of our going to Meridian would be what they were."
"Yes, I did. As I said, war is what you make of it. Do not take it personally. I would have used any of my servants, even my own son, in this way if it furthered my goals."
"It sounds like we have a lot to learn from you Dark Queen." Judas said.
Neera nodded. "Indeed you do. For now, Aljax will show you to your chambers. Rest. Sleep through the night. Tomorrow your real training begins, courtesy of my armies of Varthan." Aljax bowed to Neera, then led the way out of the throne room. The Dominators followed.
Earth. The meeting ended without any definitive conclusions. As everyone was leaving, Elyon and Will noticed that Miranda had gone up the stairs, instead of down and out. They followed and found her on the roof, leaning against the top of a wall, looking out over the city. "Hey." Will said as she leaned on the wall next to the girl. Elyon came up on the opposite side.
"Oh. Hey. Something up?"
"That's what we're asking you. Are you okay?" Will said.
Though she fought it, Miranda failed to keep a single tear from rolling down her cheek. "I'm just… I know what happened today was hard on everyone. Especially you Elyon." she said, thinking of the Queen's experience with Sandra's despair attack. "But for me… Do you know what I saw today? I saw, firsthand, what I would've been if Neera had won. It was kind of… …scary."
"Oh wow. Yeah, I guess it would be." Elyon said. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
"You've already done it. You're the reason she didn't win. We've got to break them free of Neera's power though, and fast. It's not just twisting them, it's destroying them. Little by little, they're dying inside."
"I hope you're speaking metaphorically." Will said. "The last thing we need is another short emergency time limit on top of everything else going on."
"No metaphor. I could smell it. Neera's power is so dark, so evil, it's actually going to kill them if they use it for too long. It's not an immediate thing. Not like they'll die tomorrow or next week, or even next month. But eventually…" Miranda trailed off.
"Okay then. All the more reason to figure out how to stop this for good." Elyon said. Will and Miranda nodded agreement…
Varthan. Judas lay in bed in his new quarters, thinking things over. He decided Neera was right about war being what you make of it. For that matter, life and power were also what you made of them. He rolled over and closed his eyes. Just before falling asleep, his last thoughts were "Power is what you make it. Wait 'til the world see what I make of mine…"