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

Season Three Episode Twenty-Two: "The Harder They Fall" Chapter One

Hectate Canyon. Aljax lay hidden in a deep stand of brush near the canyon rim. He had taken refuge here after nearly dying from the shockwave of the first shell to strike in the previous day's battle. Had watched in horror as his soldiers were defeated and Prince Garix forced to flee into the city to hide and recover.

Afterward, Aljax had stayed where he was, evading detection while the local army swept up after the fight, carrying away the bodies of his comrades and the magic armor and weapons they had bought back from Ivalice. In spite of the terrible cold and rain, Aljax stayed put until dawn, when he was certain the enemy had all left.

Unobserved, he crept out of hiding, shook himself off, and started planning how he might rejoin Prince Garix. This world was racking up an impressive tally of offenses against Varthan. Surely, the Prince would find a way to repay them for this. "And I will be a part of it." Aljax whispered to himself…

Fort Wyvern. General Stanrych stood at the head of a conference table in an empty room. He faced away from the table, towards an interior window that provided a view down into the labs where the Varthan soldiers' bodies and equipment were being analyzed. Some of the scientists and technicians under his command, most of them, in fact, to be honest, wanted the Guardians and Dominators in those labs as well. Stanrych, however, had no intention to allow that. He had seen enough things go wrong at Wyvern to know better. In truth, he didn't even plan to let them have Garix, though he wasn't yet sure how to prevent that one.

A knock sounded at the door and Stanrych called out for everyone to enter. Soon, the General, Captain Ananias, and the heads of each science department were seated around the table. To the General's dismay, three unidentified men from 'higher up' were also present. Stanrych opened by asking for a report on the analysis going on in the labs. "Very little to report yet General." The answer came, "we've only had the specimens for a few hours."

"Very well." Keep me informed." Stanrych said.

At this point, one of the mystery guests said "General, analysis is all well and good, but shouldn't the current focus be on capturing the remaining threats?"

"Yes," another said, "This 'Prince Garix' is still on the loose, somewhere in Heatherfield. And not only that, but disguised as a human if these Guardians can be believed."

Stanrych sighed deeply. "I am aware of that. Plans are being made now to find and stop him. With the Guardian's help, because whether you agree or not, I've concluded they can be trusted. The trouble now is finding them to start laying plans that will work for both us and them."

"Freaks should all be locked up here." One of the scientists remarked.

Anthony rose and slammed his fist on the table "One of these 'Freaks' as you say happens to be my son!" he shouted.

The third mystery man spoke, "Calm yourself Captain. General, unlike your science team, we actually agree with you, at least about not fighting with the Guardians. We are aware of what's been happening at this base, and concur that they'll be more useful free and on our side. But Prince Garix, and the Dominators," here he looked at Anthony, "represent threats that have to be stopped."

"I'm sorry Captain, but they're right." Stanrych said. "All that leaves is the matter of how to contact the Guardians."

"We may have a suggestion for that General." The second guest said…

Sheffield Institute, lunch hour. The Guardians met outside and ate near the front gate. "I still can't believe you've never danced before." Hay Lin said to Miranda.

Miranda answered "Well, I did learn a couple of dances as a part of one of my jobs working in Phobos' court. The thing is, they both require eight legs to pull off."

Hearing this, everyone stared at her. It was Irma who finally asked "What kind of job could he possibly have sent you on that required dancing as a spider?"

Miranda chuckled. "VERY long story." She said. "And it didn't work out as intended, ended up turning into a comedy of errors, really. I'll tell you all about it sometime. What matters now is, I wanna be able to dance with Gideon next week."

"We've got you covered there." Cornelia said. "Hurry up and finish eating, We'll have time for a starter lesson before we go back to class…"

Garix, disguised as an ordinary human, was lurking in a back alleyway near the center of downtown Heatherfield. Knowing he needed to eat to regain his strength, but also not feeling up to trying to rob a store, he had mugged a man for his wallet and now stood counting the money contained within. It didn't seem like much to him, but surely he would at least be able to buy a meal. As he started to walk out of the alley, Aljax appeared from around the corner and bowed before him. "Aljax?" Garix asked. "I had thought you killed with the others."

"Very nearly so, my Prince." Aljax answered. "But I survived, as did my scanners, through which I have tracked you down to rejoin you."

Garix smiled. "Excellent. We shall free Mother and have our revenge yet. Were you able to preserve the Ivalician gems I trusted to you?"

"Yes my Prince."

"And I still have the Ultima gems. Together, we will unleash my greatest plan of all. But first, we must recover. Come Aljax, let us eat and drink, and then I will tell you of my scheme."

After half an hour of practice, Miranda was starting to get the hang of basic slow dancing, much to the relief of Cornelia and Irma's feet, which she had trod upon repeatedly. While Alchemy knelt down to heal the damage, Miranda tried to apologize. "Forget it." Irma said. "Everyone does that at first."

"Yeah, you'll do better when we practice again after school." Cornelia said.

Just then, Martin came running up to the girls. "You're gonna want to see this." He said, holding up his smartphone. The Guardians leaned in close to see the screen.

When Martin pushed 'play', the phone's screen filled with a video of General Stanrych, holding a press conference. He was saying that the military had no comments yet in regards to the incidents at the hotel, or the later occurrences at Hectate Canyon. Then he said "I am telling you all in advance, that I will not comment on my next statement. I am simply using the media to deliver an important message. That message is this: Guardians, please meet me at the site of our first contact. I will be waiting, if needed, all day." The General then turned and left, ignoring questions the press was asking about the statement.

"I guess that after-school lesson is off." Miranda said.

"We'll get it later. If we even go. What if this is a trap to catch us?" Cornelia said.

Will answered "It's a risk we've got to take. We can always teletransit out if they try to pull something."

"Unless they've learned how to jam teleporting." Hay Lin said.

"We'll cross that bridge if we come to it." Elyon said.