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 Three
Working as stealthily as possible, the Heatherfield police evacuated as many people as possible from the Taco Queen and its surroundings, one at a time when necessary. By the time the army arrived, half an hour after the order had been sent to the police, almost every civilian was clear of the area.
General Stanrych stood at the front of the mobilized forces of Fort Wyvern, with Captain Ananias by his side and the Guardians behind him, just out of sight of the restaurant. He motioned towards the girls. "The Guardians will take point, going in first and making one last effort to convince Prince Garix to surrender. It won't work, of course, but I suppose it's only right to try…"
Anthony continued, "Our orders are to hold the perimeter and prevent Garix and his last remaining soldier from escaping. Do not, under any circumstances, move in any closer than this, or you'll be in the line of fire."
Turning to the girls, Stanrych said "Remember, all I need is for him to be outside, where we can get a clean shot." He looked straight at Hay Lin. "I understand you have some kind of super-sensitive hearing?"
"Yes," she answered, "I could hear a pin drop a mile away if I wanted to."
"Good. Listen to my voice, when you hear me say 'Take the shot' haul your butts out of there, fast, and don't look back."
Taranee asked "You still haven't told us just what's up your sleeve?"
"And I'm not going to 'tell' you. Classified. Though, you'll know when you see it what it was. I trust you'll keep your mouths shut."
"Alright." Will said. "Here goes nothing…" The Guardians flew towards the evacuated restaurant together…
Inside the Taco Queen, Garix and Aljax were so busily engrossed in their planning the details of an attack that for quite some time they failed to even notice that they were now alone. Suddenly something, perhaps the deep quiet, registered on Garix' senses. He looked and saw the emptiness. "Something is wrong." He said. "Aljax, start using the gem. We are about to be attacked."
While Garix transformed into his half-spider form, Aljax used the Utsusemi gem. With each use, it created between three and five clone images. Aljax noticed that the images required remarkably little energy from the gem to maintain, so he could produce dozens of copies simultaneously. When he had made around sixty copies, the gem reached its limit. Aljax then made his clones all hide behind tables and booths and in the kitchen area, the better to gain surprise when an attack came.
When the doors opened, Aljax was surprised, though he quickly realized he shouldn't have been. He had been expecting elite human army soldiers. Instead he got the Guardians. They floated in and landed in an arc about twenty feet in front of Garix. "Here's the deal big guy." Will said, "It's just the two of you now, and we know you've got to be getting tired of this. Why don't we just call it a day and end this peacefully?"
"It will end in peace for you…" Garix said. "The peace of the grave. Aljax, NOW!"
At his master's command, Aljax called on all of his clones, which emerged from hiding and rushed the Guardians. Shocked by this new development, they took up fighting positions and started using their powers to attack the clones. But as each clone took a hit, it vanished in a puff of smoke.
"What the…" Irma exclaimed.
"They aren't real!" Taranee shouted. "Just some kind of illusions!" She burned through three at once with a column of flame, destroying them.
"If they're illusions, who's making them?" Cornelia asked as she dropped a ceiling tile on a pair of clones.
Will looked around. Saw Aljax cowering behind Garix, using the gem over and over to replace clones as they were destroyed. "There!" she thought to the others.
"Won't be easy stopping him with Garix in the way." Miranda thought.
Cassidy answered "Don't rush him. Wait for an opening."
"And remember that any opening could be a trap." Taranee added.
Meanwhile, Garix clutched the gems in his hands tightly. With three, he was having to hold one in a foreleg, but it didn't matter. He wouldn't need to move much anyway. The Prince raised one hand and held out the gem in it. "Manafont." He whispered, activating the spell. Instantly, the paired Ultima gems began to glow brighter…
At the Vandom/Collins residence, Dean and Susan stood in front of the television watching news coverage of the army's closure of an area in Heatherfield. Dean held his wife close in his arms as she trembled with worry. "We don't know for sure the girls are in the middle of this…" he started to say.
"Don't lie. Not even to try to comfort me Dean." Susan answered. "The whole reason the army is even in town is because of the Dominators and Garix. If they've evacuated this place, it's connected. And if it's connected the girls are there."
Dean didn't say anything else at first. He knew Susan was right. Finally he said "At least we know the girls know how to take care of themselves. They're good at what they do."
"Yeah. And at least we know. It's strange, but as much as I worry, I still wouldn't want to go back to being in the dark about this."
"Neither would I." Dean admitted. "Have faith. They'll come through okay…"
Seeing an apparent opening, Irma wove between a series of Aljax clones and made a straight-line run towards the real thing, still cowering behind Garix. Before she could get there, she saw the glowing gems the Prince held. "Red Alert!" she thought to the others. "Here it comes!" She then tried to reverse course but was going too fast. Fortunately, a quick-thinking Elyon flew into Irma from the other direction and threw them both away from Garix.
Prince Garix held the gems tightly as he used the Ultima spell. As before, a wave of destructive energy encompassing every elemental force surged outward. Thanks to Elyon's interference, Irma had time to teleport them both away before the wave front reached her. All around the room, the other girls also teleported just out of range.
"That's it." Will said when they regathered just outside the building. "We should be in the clear now. Let's take him down."
The Guardians flew back into the damaged Taco Queen, heading for Garix. "Your little spell's over and your number's up!" Irma quipped at him.
Garix grinned. "Oh really?" He held the still glowing gems. "Ultima!"
Shocked at the unexpected repetition, the Guardians were at a loss. They were moving too fast to avoid the attack this time, flying right into it instead…