Disclaimer: I do not own W.I.T.C.H. This is a work of fan fiction.

Season Three Episode Twenty-One: "War on Three Fronts" Chapter Five

Matt, Kor, and Napoleon were fighting a pair of Varthan soldiers, on the far side of the battle from the Guardians, when Garix used the Ultima spell. They all saw the tremendous blast and knew something very bad had happened. Luckily, loyalty to their leader caused the soldiers to turn and run in that direction in case Garix was in need of assistance. Inattention was the duo's downfall. They were cut down in mid stride by the combined firepower of a large number of U.S. troops.

"Whatever that was, it happened where Will and the others were at." Matt said. "let's get over there quick." Napoleon and Kor agreed and they rushed to the rescue.

High in the air, Miranda and Sandra were engaged in a battle of wills, Aura of Hope versus Aura of Despair. Miranda was winning. Then, they were distracted from each other by the blast directly below. "W… What was that?" Sandra asked.

"Garix, ten to one." Miranda answered.

"Judas is down there!" Sandra exclaimed. "I've got to help him!" She cast a wary eye to Miranda.

"Truce." Miranda said. "Supposed to be one anyway, right? You help your friends I'll help mine. And, if you'll knock it off with the despair, a little hope'll probably help your team too." Seeing Miranda was right, Sandra reigned in her power. Together, they dived to the ground.

Alchemy had separated from the other Guardians, the better to get full use of her powers by flying about healing the injured and dying. She was helping a man whose right leg had been badly burned by a Firaga blast when Garix used his mighty spell. The destructive wave of energy stopped only a few feet short of enveloping her and her patient before dissipating.

She looked to the man in front of her. "My friends…" she said.

He answered "Go. You've just about finished here anyway, I'll be fine."

"Thanks. Good luck." Alchemy smiled at him, then flew away.

Prince Garix stood over the unconscious Judas, gloating. He cast his gaze around, seeing all but one of the Dominators and most of the Guardians as well. Mother would surely reward him for this victory, once he released her from her crystalline prison. Perhaps, he would ask that his reward be Judas, to torture for so long as he wished. The Dominator leader had really gotten under his skin lately.

As he knelt down to collect his prize, Garix was struck in the back by a concentrated beam of magical energy. He was cast several feet away from Judas, and turned to see the regents of earth standing side by side. Before Garix could react, Matt fired again, a concentrated, continuous blast that he didn't let up on. Garix actually felt the heat through his armor, and worried that the Regent might actually burn through and hurt him.

Garix turned, trying to expose an undamaged portion of his armor to Matt's attack. As soon as he turned, he saw Alchemy, Miranda, and Sandra hovering over the fallen Guardians and Dominators.

"Your power is healing, right?" Sandra asked Alchemy. "Can you get them back on their feet?"

"On my own, I could only do one at a time." Alchemy answered. "Can you give me a boost Miranda?"

"Absolutely." Miranda answered. She directed her power to Alchemy, who felt the boost and let her own, now magnified, powers flow out and into the prone forms beneath her. Moments later, the Guardians and Dominators were awake and getting up.

Watching from a distance, Anthony said to his commanding officer "I wonder why the Prince isn't just using that spell over again?"

"Good question." Stanrych answered. "Unless… I wonder, is it possible there's some kind of refractory period for those crystals? Maybe they need time to regenerate power before being used again."

Anthony answered. "Makes sense. You know sir, the Guardians might could use some help, taking him down. And if he can't use that spell again for a while…"

"Right you are Captain. All units, Attack!"

Garix lunged at his enemies, swinging his fists wildly at everyone in range. He couldn't reuse Ultima for at least ten minutes, but he figured with caution he could keep them busy that long. He called out for his soldiers to come to his aid as well.

Judas and Bess focused their power for a combined attack on the Prince. The attacks connected, but didn't seem to bother Garix at all. In fact, he just laughed at them, as well as at Uriah when he tried to make Garix feel fear.

Kor and Napoleon grabbed Garix from behind. They struggled to hold him in place, exposing the portion of the Prince's armor that had been weakened earlier. Matt fired at that spot again, as did Will and Cassidy, who were boosted in power by Miranda. Elyon also got in on the attack, and Taranee shot a stream of fire at Garix.

Garix couldn't believe what was happening. He fought to get free of the regents who were holding him, but he just couldn't break their grasp. A large portion of his armor was nearly gone now. And just where were his men anyway? No one had come to his aid. Surely they hadn't all been defeated? Then, all at once, he felt the regents let go of him and leap away.

Napoleon and Kor had released Garix because they saw what was coming next. Even as the Guardians and Matt continued firing, the army arrived. Garix began to be pounded by bullets and artillery shells.

Stanrych looked up at Will. "His men are all down." The General explained. "Thought you could use the help."

Garix heard the General's words and realized this was a fight he had no chance to win. He needed to pull back and recalculate. "I can still win the day," he thought, "but I'll need to use stealthier tactics." Intending to retreat to some other world, Garix reached for his transit crystal… …and found it shattered. Roaring in anger, he retreated the old-fashioned way, leaping away in great bounds towards Heatherfield, where he could turn into his human form and hide.

Once Garix was gone, the Dominators also hastily left the area. Anthony tried to talk to his son, but was rebuked. Will and Elyon filled Stanrych in on the fact that Garix could disguise himself as a human, and Hay Lin offered to make a sketch of the human form for the police and army to use in looking for him. Soon, everyone went their own ways, for the time being…

Late that night, the Guardians were all in their own homes, getting ready for bed and talking telepathically. Taranee was saying "What I don't get is why the Dominator's power was so useless against Garix. I mean, if he's immune to it because of who and what he is, then how the heck did they hurt Neera with it?"

"Good question" Cassidy agreed.

"Let's worry about it later, right now I'm beat." Irma replied.

Will thought "Okay then. Any other business before we get some sleep?"

"It's not exactly business, but I do have one thing." Miranda thought. "Gideon finally got around to actually asking me to the dance today. Which is great except for one thing: Can anyone, like, teach me HOW to dance…?