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 Four
It looked like it was all over. Guardians and Ultima spell shockwave were converging too fast for any hope of avoiding a collision. Suddenly, Miranda shouted "Cornelia! Shield!" She then directed all of her own power, every last bit of the Aura of Hope into the earth Guardian.
Reacting fast, Cornelia projected a telekinetic shield ahead of the Guardians, between them and the approaching spell energy. Fortified by Miranda's power, it was the strongest shield she had ever made, and she hoped it might be enough.
Half a second later, impact. Destructive magic met defensive magic in a terrible conflagration. Cornelia's shield almost held. The bulk of Garix' attack was absorbed, but what made it through was still more than enough to throw the Guardians backwards, out through a wall that collapsed, into the open air. They struck the ground hard about two hundred feet in front of where General Stanrych stood waiting.
Together with Captain Ananias, Stanrych ran to where they had fallen. "Are you injured?" Anthony asked as they started to get back up.
"We'll be feeling it in the morning, but I think we're alright." Cassidy answered.
Stanrych looked towards the restaurant. "My apologies Guardians." He said. "I would've sworn Garix couldn't do that more than once at a time."
Will answered "Don't sweat it. We didn't think so either."
"If he can do it twice, who's to say he can't do it three times? Or more?" Alchemy asked.
Suddenly a grin formed on the General's face. "Excellent." He said.
Confused, the girls all looked at him. "Excellent?" Taranee asked.
"Yes. I need him out in the open. I had hoped to lure him out of the building, but since the building is totaled now anyway, there's no further loss in it being destroyed. If he's got more shots in those gems, he can destroy it for us…"
"…and then we've got a clear shot." Anthony finished.
Taranee had caught on now. "So all we need to do is keep him shooting until the roof caves in."
Garix watched through a hole in the wall as the Guardians flew back for another round. He could almost admire their spirit. They would've made powerful allies if things had been different. "Aljax, more clones." He said. Got no response. Glanced over his shoulder to see the loyal man on the ground, unmoving. "I must have hit him with the outer edge of the second Ultima spell." Garix thought. "No matter. I am Prince Garix, and I will not fail…"
Looking back at his foes, Garix began firing blasts from the Ultima gems over and over, as often as possible. Three, seven, fifteen shots. The Guardians stayed just at the limits of the spell's range, darting into range to goad him into shooting, then ducking away to safety.
At the twenty-third blast, the power of the Manafont gem wore off. Enough power remained in the Ultima gems for one last casting, but before Garix could use it, he heard a rumble over his head. The ruined structure began to shake violently. Realizing what was about to happen, Prince Garix swore softly under his breath. Then the roof caved in on his head.
Sheffield Institute. After hours, there was no one working in the school. Even security generally stayed outside, patrolling the perimeter by car or on foot rather than entering the buildings, and the school had yet to see the need (or have the budget) to install security cameras in the hallways or classrooms. As a result, no one was present to feel the sudden rush of wind, hear the popping sound of displaced air rushing outward, or see the sudden appearance of five teenagers.
"The school?" Judas asked. "Uriah, this is your idea of a good new hideout? The place is filled with people five days a week you idiot!"
Sandra agreed, "It would actually be a good idea during summer vacation, but not now. There's too many people around all the time right now."
Grinning, Uriah said "There's not people everywhere. Follow me." Uriah led the other Dominators through the halls until they came to a large steel door. The hinges were badly rusted. "On the other side of this door," Uriah said, "are three old classrooms. They're not used anymore for some reason. See the door hinges? No one has even opened this door for like twenty years. My old man told me one time it was already sealed when he went to school here."
Judas smiled. "Not bad…"
"We can live here during the day and steal food from the cafeteria at night." Courtney said.
"Of course, we'll have to teleport in and out. But that's no bother, and besides it just means extra security." Bess added.
"This is good work Dunn." Judas said. "C'mon, let's go raid the kitchen, then we'll settle in for the night."
As the Dominators walked to the cafeteria, a poster on the wall caught Sandra's eye. She stopped to read it, then called for the others. "Hey, come take a look at this!" she said…
The Guardians hovered over the collapsed ruins of the Taco Queen restaurant. "Well," Irma said, "At least it wasn't a good restaurant…"
Below, the debris began to shake again. Huge chunks of roof flew upwards, and Prince Garix emerged from the wreckage. He looked up at the girls. "A decent strategy." He said, "But foolish to think a mere roof collapse would stop me." He then leapt up towards the Guardians and unleashed the final Ultima spell.
As Garix was speaking, Hay Lin was listening to General Stanrych half a block away. So she heard him say the words he had warned her to listen for: "Take the shot."
Warned, the Guardians were already flying away at full speed as Garix leapt up and cast his spell. He wondered why they had ran early this time, and cursed his luck at having already used the spell. Then, he became aware of a blindingly bright light in the sky directly above him…
In a flash, in a single heartbeat, General Stanrych's plan became obvious. From above came a beam of light brighter than the sun, brighter than the flash of a nuclear bomb, a white-hot column of death lancing down from somewhere in low earth orbit. The powerful laser struck home, plowing into Garix with a power greater than anything he had ever felt, ever imagined. He was throw hard back to the ground by the weapon, which just kept firing and firing, nonstop for nearly a minute before cutting off.
The Guardians, who had retreated to the General's side, looked towards ground zero as the beam finally stopped. Even Irma was silenced, no flippant comment to be made. Finally, Taranee said "Was that what I think it was?"
Poker faced, Stanrych replied "I have no idea what you are talking about. Nothing just happened."
"You neither confirm nor deny. Got it. So now what?"
Before Stanrych could answer, Garix rose, red hot, on fire in places, his natural armor totally burned away. He roared and tried to charge, but instead fell to the ground unconscious.
Unfazed, the General said "Now, we get him to that prison of yours before certain people show up and try to haul him back to Fort Wyvern…