W.I.T.C.H. doesn't belong to me. I'm just doing this for fun.
Many thanks to Aesop for his help in editing and consulting with ideas!
Set shortly after the end of Season 2.
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Meridian; Infinite City:
"We need to figure out what our next course of action should be," Will told them.
"You only need to do one simple thing!" Nerissa told them, frustrated. "Just keep the damn Heart away from him! That is the one thing that will give him ultimate victory, which must never be!"
"Thanks for the tip," Irma sneered. "But I think we've had enough experience with bad guys to figure out our own battle plans, thank you very much. Will?"
Their leader gave a sheepish smile. "Well…yeah. What Nerissa says is our main goal, of course…"
Irma fumed while Nerissa just gave her a superior grin.
"But it's not our only concern," Will added. "We can't hide out for the rest of our lives from this guy, no matter how powerful he's supposed to be. We need to find a way to defeat him."
"What do you think I've been doing for nearly four decades?" Nerissa asked. "Besides everything else I did, I searched for ways that would help me in defeating him… Nothing worked! Hexin has been on earth since before the first civilisations were created, he knows all manner of spells and charms, and how to counteract them, and for all I know was the one who first invented the martial arts."
"Then we'll find something else to use," Will replied. "No one is invulnerable. There has to be a way."
"Well, we need to find it now!" Nerissa said desperately. "Time is running out."
"What do you mean?"
Nerissa sighed heavily, her eyes looking ready to cry. "Remember what I told you about the spell Hexin intends for Lillian? What acquirements are essential for the spell to take affect?"
"Besides Lillian…" Will frowned.
"You said the ritual could only be done at a specific time when the stars are in a certain alignment!" Taranee suddenly remembered.
"Yes," Nerissa moaned. "And guess what…" She paused for a moment, letting what she had just said sink in, giving them the opportunity to figure it out for themselves. "The night of the stars' alignment is tomorrow night!"
"WHAT?!"
"Why do you think I was there at your apartment?" Nerissa sneered, looking straight at Cornelia. "I knew that if Hexin had found Lillian by then, he would waste no time and go after her by tomorrow at the latest."
"Why didn't you tell us this?!" Cornelia shouted.
"I just did."
Everyone glared at her.
"Then all we need do is keep her safe until the alignment has passed, and then…" Cornelia deduced.
"The alignment isn't a once in a lifetime moment," Nerissa explained sadly. "It comes at numerous times throughout the years, sometimes once in a couple of decades and sometimes twice in a few years. Even if we keep Lillian safe from this one, there will be another time Hexin can use her, and if it's one thing he has plenty of, it's time."
"Terrific," Will said with a moan.
They all remained quiet for a few minutes, no one knowing what to say next. More than one of them resisted the urge to start whistling.
"Mind if I ask you something?" Hay Lyn suddenly asked, looking at Nerissa.
The Mexican woman stared at her in irritation. "What?!"
"Well, I was just curious about something…"
"Hmmm?"
"Well, how come your disguises as Trill and the Mage looked older than what they did when you first created them?"
At Nerissa's blank look, she added, "Elyon told me that when she went into your mind and saw what she thought were her birth parents, you...or that is Trill looked younger?"
Nerissa shrugged. "I should think that would be obvious," she explained arrogantly. "When I took on the Trill form I created for myself, I naturally had to make it believable. If I were to spend years on Meridian in a form that never aged, don't you think people would have started getting suspicious?"
Hay Lyn thinned her eyes, but said nothing.
"I aged it over the years so that no one would suspect. A little weight around the cheeks, a wrinkle here, a grey hair there, and no one was the wiser."
"Okay, I understand that," Hay Lyn admitted. "But…why did you age your Mage form though? It can't be for the same reason."
At her and everyone else's curious looks, she explained. "The Mage has been young and beautiful for centuries, like thousands of years. Why would she have suddenly started to age then?
Hay Lyn's words provoked a spark of realisation in everyone, as they all stared at Nerissa in question.
Nerissa, however, looked as though she didn't want to answer, as she mumbled something angrily.
"What was that?" Caleb asked, as curious as everyone else.
His mother snarled. "It was a mistake, alright!" she finally admitted, albeit reluctantly. "When I was coming up with the glamours, in which I would lead my double and triple lives, I tried to have everything planned perfectly so that no one would suspect my true identity. I did the whole aging thing with Trill so no one would find out, but…"
She paused, grumbling. "Inadvertently, I ended up doing the same thing with my Mage form. It didn't even occur to me until years later that the Mage was immortal, and therefore I had no need to age my form of her. Unfortunately, by the time I realised that, it was too late. Caleb and Julian had observed me for years as I got older, so there was no way I could just suddenly stop and de-age myself, at least not without alerting anyone to my secret!"
"Didn't anyone suspect?" Caleb asked, seemingly amazed.
"Not anyone on Meridian. Mostly because I kept myself hidden behind the waterfall gate, the same as the real Mage did for centuries, so no one ever really got a good look at her. And the only ones who got a good look at me, aside from the odd rebel, were Julian and Caleb, but I guess they just assumed my aging was normal."
Caleb muttered beneath his breath.
"What about the Council?" Will added.
Nerissa shrugged. "By the time we met at the first Council meeting, I had long since planned a story to tell them… I simply explained that I had been using my powers strenuously over the years, by helping the rebels in dealing with Phobos, and the cost had been high in my life force. And with the Oracle's foresight temporarily incapacitated, they believed me."
Hay Lyn blinked. "Wow, you're really a good liar, aren't you?!"
Nerissa gave her a long stare, and opened her mouth to speak again. But before she could…
[BOOM!]
The entire Infinity City seemed to shake around them.
"What on Meridian?!" Irma swore.
Nerissa didn't even need to think what was the course. "Hexin!" she hissed.
"Oh, come on! How could he get here?" Cornelia rebuked her.
Nerissa just gave her a sideways glance. "He's Hexin," she simply replied. "There is little he can not do."
A look of alarm crossed Caleb's face. "Elyon!"
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Elyon's Palace:
"What is that?!" Elyon demanded, rising from her bed and hurrying to her window. What she saw outside made her gasp. A few moments later, her parents came rushing in.
"Is it Phobos again?" she asked her father.
Alborn shook his head. "No, we…we don't know who it is, Elyon, but…"
"But what?"
Her mother seemed shocked, too, but she was at least able to speak. "The men who attack," Miriadel explained. "They appear to be…from Earth."
"Earth?!"
They nodded. "We don't recognise the uniforms they wear," Miriadel added, "so they're clearly not American military."
"How can you be sure they're from Earth?" Elyon asked. "We do have humans living here on Meridian, too."
"They carry guns, hand-grenades and other such weapons, Elyon," Alborn explained. "Meridian has none of those kinds of weapons."
Elyon swore. "How is this possible?" she asked finally.
"We do not know," her mother replied. "They just appeared suddenly through a large portal. They clearly intend us harm, though why we do not know."
"Prepare for battle," Elyon commanded. "I will meet with their leader first and see what their demands are. If they truly mean us harm then I will see to them. No one is to interrupt us in the proceedings, and that is an order! Understand?"
Her parents bowed. "As you command, My Queen," her father replied, giving his adopted daughter and monarch the respect she so rightly deserved. With that, he and his wife left the room.
Elyon wasted no time and grabbed her dress hanging in the wardrobe. A she clothed herself, she couldn't stop wondering how in all creation could people from Earth be here on Meridian?
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"Don't be a fool!" Nerissa yelled at her son.
"I have to get to the Palace!" Caleb yelled back. "If Hexin is here, then I have to help protect Elyon at all costs!"
"And how much of your protection do you think will be adequate if Hexin gets his hands on Lillian?!" she shot back.
"The same could be said if he gets Elyon," Taranee added. "Don't forget, she's a Heart, too. He could use her for his spell instead of Lillian."
"And have you forgotten that you have the Heart of Kandrakar, which is what he's after in the first place?!"
"We have to help!" Hay Lyn exclaimed. "We can't let the Meridians fight Hexin. They have no idea what they're letting themselves in for."
"You've got a point," Will agreed. "We could…" She paused.
"What?" Irma asked.
Will looked to Caleb. "Caleb, would you be willing to take the Heart of Kandrakar for us? Just keep it on you, and keep it hidden from Hexin while we fight him?"
"Hexin can sense the Heart if it's close by," Nerissa told them. "He can probably sense it now."
"Well, we can't leave it undefended, and we're going to need all the force we can get against him," Will explained, and at Nerissa's look she added, "And don't even think about asking to look after the Heart for us!"
The dark-haired witch glared at her, but said nothing.
"I'll do it," Caleb answered Will's earlier question. "I'll look after the Heart. I'll stay back at the Palace with Elyon and the other guards. That way I'll be far from Hexin, and if he should come up, I'll steer clear of him."
Will nodded. "Okay, but what about Lillian?" she then asked.
"I'll stay here with her."
Everyone all turned to stare at Nerissa.
"You must be joking," Cornelia could only stutter at her.
"Why on earth would…" Irma tried to add.
"Do you have any other options?!" Nerissa snapped. "You said yourself that all of you will be needed for the battle. I have already been guarding Lillian till your arrival, and for the rest of her life before then!"
Cornelia opened her mouth to retort, but Will touched her shoulder, silencing her. "Alright, you'll be her bodyguard."
Everyone stared at her as if she had grown a second head.
"Come on, guys, you know it makes sense!" Will told them, though from her tone it was obvious she liked it as much as they did. "Nerissa knows Hexin, so she'll be the best person to fight him if he comes here."
"Wouldn't that make her ideal to fight him topside then?" Irma queried.
Will shook her head. "Like she said, Hexin only wants a Heart so that he can get ours. If we all go up to protect Elyon, then Lily will be on her own, and none of us have the real experience in fighting him. So no, we'll all go up to battle him, and warn Elyon to stay away from him. The lot of us should be enough at least to keep Elyon safe, together with her power and army, while Lily should be okay with Nerissa."
"Should be?!" Cornelia stuttered.
"You got a better idea, let me know of it?!"
"What if we take Lily home?" Irma suggested. "Or at least somewhere other than here."
"Hexin somehow found Lily all the way from Earth to here on Meridian. If he could do that once, then chances are he could do it again. There may be no place safe enough for us to hide her."
"We don't know that for sure." Taranee thought aloud.
"You wanna take the risk?"
Everyone was silent then.
"I really, really don't like this, Will," Cornelia spoke, looking aghast but resigned.
"I'm not exactly thrilled about it myself, but what other choice have we?"
"We'll stay here, too!" Matt/Shagon suddenly interjected. He had kept quiet all this time, letting events unfold, but had chosen now to speak. "We're Lillian's Regents after all, so we should stay to protect her."
Another loud boom and shudder went through the underground city, making everyone look upward, even though they couldn't naturally see anything.
"Okay, the guys stay here. The rest of us go up top!" Will and the others began to move out, except for Cornelia who lingered a moment longer.
"Cornelia?" Will asked from behind her.
Cornelia gave Nerissa one of the hardest looks she had ever gave anyone in her entire life. "If you do anything to hurt my sister, witch, I swear…not all the magic in all the universe will save you from me!"
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Several Minutes Later:
Hexin stood at the foot of the portal, watching as his private army stormed through into Meridian. His research and charms had told him all he needed to know about this world. At the time when he had first been banished to Earth, Meridian had been nothing more than a savage world of primitive primates, virtually no intelligent life.
'Guess they beefed up,' he thought amusedly.
His men opened fire, shooting the Meridian soldiers on sight. Hexin paid them no heed, keeping his eyes open for the true objects of his desire.
Sure enough, they soon came into view…six of them anyway.
"My Lord," his Commander reported. "The Queen of this world approaches!"
"I can see that," Hexin replied simply, eyeing as the four Guardians and who he assumed was the queen, and current Heart of Meridian, approach them. "Take aim and fire on my command."
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"Cornelia?" Elyon asked, as she flew over to the attacking army, and Cornelia came up beside her. "What are you…?"
"Never mind that now?!" her friend shrieked. "Get the hell out of here!"
"What?"
"Elyon, listen to her!" Will shouted beyond her. "You're in terrible danger! Whatever happens, you cannot let yourself get anywhere near the guy leading this army!"
"He's attacking my people!" Elyon said aghast. "I can't just stand by and…"
"You can and you will!" Will snapped. "There's a whole lot more going on here than you can imagine, Elyon! It's imperative that Hexin doesn't get you, or else its curtains for all of us!"
"Hexin?"
"The head guy of this army," Irma explained.
"But shouldn't I…?
"NO!" all five Guardians shouted.
"Elyon, trust me, just get out…" Cornelia started, nut never finished.
"ARGH!" Elyon yelped, as something shot into her. It looked to be no more than some kind of tranquilliser dart, though.
"What the hell…?" Irma quipped.
"Elyon, quick, back to the castle!" Will ordered.
Elyon pulled the dart out and cast it to the ground, rubbing her shoulder where it had penetrated her. "Funny," she said aloud, "I don't feel sleepy."
"Doesn't matter, we don't know what that thing was! Let's get you home straight away!"
"Why?" the queen asked curiously. "I…"
A loud chorus of screams came from below, and Elyon watched with horror as dozens of her Sentry soldiers were shot down with Hexin's guns.
"NO!" she screamed, and raised her hands to summon a hail of wind to sweep the invaders away. "YOU WILL NOT HURT MY PEOPLE!"
"Elyon, wait!"
The wind came as Elyon intended, but…there was something wrong? Almost from the moment the dart had hit her, she had started to feel a creeping sensation of stiffness and pain inside her. It started out at her shoulder, where the dart had hit her, and seemed to be growing throughout her arm.
Hexin's men yelled, as they were swept up into a huge hurricane, blown clear across the battlefield. Elyon's guards gave out cries of joy, praising their queen for her protection.
But with every passing second, the pain in Elyon increased, making it harder and harder for her to keep the hurricane going, and even harder to keep herself floating in the air.
"Urhhh," she moaned, doubling over like she had a stomach cramp.
"Elyon, what's wrong?!" Cornelia cried out worriedly.
"I…don't know," she admitted, fighting to keep herself from falling. "It feels like…AAARGGGHHH!" She screamed.
"ELYON!" her friend shrieked, as Elyon seemingly lost control and began to fall right back down to Meridian.
Hay Lyn gasped, and immediately summoned a gale of her own to catch her friend, lowering her safely back to solid ground.
"Elyon?!"
The queen of Meridian gasped, but the pain finally seemed to be easing off. Within moments, it was gone. "I'm…I'm fine," she rasped out.
"What happened?" Will all but demanded.
"I don't know. It was like…I'm not sure. I just felt pain all around me. It was like I was being electrocuted from the inside out."
The Guardians looked at her in question, and Will was about to ask more, but another blast from Hexin's men shook the ground beneath them, and the screams of Elyon's men soon filled the air yet again.
"My people!" Elyon yelled, getting up hurriedly.
"Elyon, wait, you can't…!"
"I'm fine!" her friend snapped, and immediately started up another spell. "These men will pay dearly for…AAARRRGHHHHH!" Her screams added to those of her own soldiers.
As her friends watched on in horror, Elyon's body seemed to emit a vast amount of electricity, like Will did whenever she summoned her Quintessence power. Except Elyon seemed to have no protection against this power, as she screamed in agony.
Then, just as quickly as it had started, it finished, and Elyon slumped to the ground.
"Elyon!" Cornelia shrieked again, grabbing her friend by the shoulders, but this time she was out cold.
"Hexin!" Will deduced, snarling beneath her breath.
"That dart he hit Elyon with must have had some kind of magic suppression," Taranee thought aloud. "Something that would keep Elyon from using her powers in battle."
"Swell," Will groaned.
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Infinite City; Same Time:
Another loud boom sounded and the room shuddered, as Nerissa felt dust from the ceiling fall down on her. She walked over to Lillian, gently stroking her face as she slept soundly through all the noise.
Shagon and Kor remained standing where they were. They each glared at Nerissa, but said nothing.
"Everything will be fine," she whispered, though it was mostly to herself since Lillian could hear nothing because of the spell. "No one will…"
A loud explosion, one far nearer than any of the previous others, rocked the room, and Nerissa felt herself thrown to the nearby wall by the impact. She banged into the wall, knocking her head hard.
The wall, which had been the entrance/exit from the room itself, stood hanging off its hinges, a cloud of dust surrounding it. A few moments later, the sound of footsteps approached.
Nerissa forced her eyes open, looking at the coming silhouette of a man through the fog in both the dust and her own concussion. There also seemed to be a loud beeping noise.
The man walked through the fog, followed by several others, holding some kind of control box in his hand. "Agent Sanchez," he muttered, looking disdainfully down at the fallen former Guardian.
Nerissa groaned, and looked for the Regents. Shagon and Kor were both lying down on the floor, seemingly unconscious.
"Nice to see you, I don't think," the man added, and then with one swift kick he landed his foot in her face, but not hard enough to knock her out. She hissed from the pain, but did not shy from it. On the contrary, the pain helped her to stay conscious, and she could not afford to sleep now.
"One of Hexin's pet dogs I assume," she mumbled back to him, her lip swollen.
The agent glared at her. "Better to be a dog that is loyal and with honour, than to be a ravenous wolf that dishonours itself by turning its back on the one it swore its life and service to!"
She spat at him. "Don't mistake honour with blind duty! Hexin knows nothing of Honour and cares nothing for it. That I can assure you! How did you find us, and what have you done to them?" She pointed to the fallen Regents.
He smiled. "As knowledgeable as you think you are, you do not know everything, my dear Miss Sanchez." He pointed around himself and then at the sleeping Lillian. "Do not forget that your little lady over there is the Heart of Earth. Not the Heart of Meridian. The magical aura that emits from her is, how you might say, pretty common back home. It is part of the Earth itself, so it was near impossible for us to locate her. But…"
He knelt down to her level. "…Now, she is here on Meridian, and the magic here is completely different to that of home. Like placing a drop of black oil in water, it doesn't blend in with the magic here, and is easily distinguishable. So when you came here with her, you may as well have written out a giant sign pointing us in her direction…thank you."
Nerissa spat at him again.
"As for the masked one and the overgrown weasel over there." He pointed at the Regents. "We already have one of their number back at base. Some feline with a taste for French names, apparently."
"Napoleon?"
"That's the one! The master was able to use the feline's life energy as a power source for these new weapons. Came in quite handy for knocking out these two helpers of yours."
She swore. Bloody cat!
The agent pulled his foot back for another kick, but she was ready for it this time.
"Quintessence!" she cried, mustering all her energy and striking out at the man. The energy flowed from her, and struck the man in the chest and…
Nothing?
He sneered at her. "We were ready for you this time, Agent Sanchez." He tapped his battle-armour. "Insulated armour, specially designed to counter your powers."
Nerissa's eyes widened. "Quintessence!" she repeated, but this time eyeing the weapons he and the other men were holding.
"The same goes for our weapons, too, traitor," he chuckled, and stepped around her, heading to the one place she had been trying to keep Hexin and his men away all along.
"NO!" she cried, forcing herself up and jumping at him, as he slowly approached Lillian. He easily sidestepped her, grabbing her by her long hair and knocking her face into the wall. She once more fell to the floor, spitting blood.
"I'm here to extend an invitation," the agent continued, speaking casually as he carried on beating her senseless.
[BAM!]
"If you want the girl to live…"
[SLAM!]
"Bring the Heart of Kandrakar…"
[POW!]
"To Hexin's mansion…"
[BAM!]
"He will be waiting for you there…"
[CRACK!] The cracking sound of Nerissa's bones sounded throughout the room, and Nerissa felt the last of her strength give way, and she slumped to the floor, this time unable to do anything except listen.
"And should you think about coming in force, then just a friendly word of warning…" he turned to give one final sneering look at her. "Hexin knows about you, your friends and all your powers. Don't think for one moment that he won't be ready for you when you arrive. You can fight all you like, but if you do then that will be all the sign my master needs to start the ritual, and…" He indicated the girl in his arms. "You can say goodbye to Sleeping Beauty here."
Nerissa stared with her one good eye in despair, as the agents calmly left the room, with Lillian with them.
"You have until 8PM tomorrow. I suggest you consider his offer carefully. Ta-ta!" He left with the others, chuckling softly, Lillian still sleeping soundly in his arms.
"No…" she whimpered, as the pain from her injuries sent her mind into oblivion, and she fell into blessed unconsciousness.
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After getting Elyon back to the Palace, where Caleb was now seeing to her safety, the Guardians returned to the battle, which was not going well.
Meridian's forces were loyal, strong and devoted to their queen, but alas mere swords and arrows were no match for guns and bombs. Their soldiers were soundly getting thrashed, and many were forced to retreat.
"Taranee, send a firestorm!" Will ordered.
Taranee hesitated, biting her lip in angst, but in the end she complied. "You got it," she said, raising her hands and summoning a rain of fireballs to rain down on Hexin's men. She winced, as the screams of the men echoed through the air. She didn't need to be a genius to know that some of those were the screams of men dying, but she also knew she had no choice. This was war, and the loss of life was inevitable. But that didn't mean she had to like it!
Even during the war with Phobos, Taranee had never had to kill anyone or anything. It was one of her most treasured virtues, one that she had now lost, thanks to Hexin, and she promised to pay him back for that, with interest!
Just then, the portal that had brought all of Hexin's army seemed to shimmer and glow brighter. A moment later, all of Hexin's goons started to retreat back to it.
"What's going on?" Hay Lyn asked.
"They're retreating!" Irma said excitedly.
"Yeah, but…" Will stared at the escaping soldiers worriedly. "…Why?"
"Does it matter?"
"When it concerns Hexin, yes!" Will replied, and began to fly after them.
"Will, what are you doing?!" Cornelia yelled.
"Hexin wouldn't leave like this unless he had something up his sleeve or…" Suddenly, she stopped where she was, hovering in midair. "…Or he had gotten what he wanted!" She turned back to Cornelia. "Corny, get back to Nerissa and Lillian! The rest of us will try and stop Hexin from leaving!"
Cornelia didn't need to be told twice, as she had never liked leaving her sister alone with Nerissa in the first place, and was glad for the chance to return. She turned and flew faster than a bat out of a cave.
"EVERYONE!" Will shouted out orders to the Meridian army. "Don't let the invaders escape! They must be caught!"
The soldiers were dedicated to obeying usually only their monarch, but the Guardians were known friends to Her Highness, and they had long helped their world in the past, so they complied.
"For Meridian!" one of the Sentry guards roared, brandishing his battle-axe and leading the troops after their attackers.
From beyond the battle-field, Hexin looked back at the roaring army that was now making its way to his forces, no doubt to try and prevent their escape. He merely arched an eyebrow at them.
"One good turn deserves another," he mused aloud, and reached into the pouch tied to his belt, and pulled out a handful of red dust. "Inferno!" he yelled, and threw the dust in front of him. It swished right out across the air, flying beyond most of his troops until it then began to settle in a fine line across the field. The second it did…
[WOOF!]
Flames sprang out from the dust that touched the ground, or whatever it touched down on. Some of the unfortunate warriors had gotten in the way of it when it had floated down, some of who were Meridian knights, and others that were of Hexin's own army.
Men's screams once more filled the air, and slowly died along with their owners, the stench of burning flesh floating on the winds.
"Those who aren't through the portal within the next minute get left behind," Hexin simply told his commander beside him, and walked through the portal.
The flames grew high and hot, so much that even the Guardians who were flying could not even pass through them.
"Irma!" Will called out.
"I know, I'm trying!" she shouted back, trying to summon all the water she could to extinguish the flames, but for some reason the fire just wouldn't quit.
"These must be magic flames!" Hay Lyn deduced. "I think it's going to take a lot more water than even we've got to put them out!"
"Try and get around them!" Will replied, flying higher to get over the flames, but every time she came even close, the flames shot up higher to block her path.
This went on for several minutes, all of Meridian's soldiers and the combined efforts of the Guardians fighting to put out the enchanted fire, but to no avail. Until finally…the flames simply puffed out, as though someone had just blown them out, like with a candle. And once everyone had recovered from the surprise, they soon noticed the reason why.
"Hexin's gone!" Will snarled.
"The magic that he used to create the fire must have only worked as long as he was close by," Taranee said, frowning.
"TARANEE!" Cornelia's mental voice screamed through Taranee's head, giving her a migraine. "GET BACK TO NERISSA'S PLACE NOW!"
"Guys!" the Fire Guardian moaned. "Corny says we have to get back to Nerissa and Lillian like yesterday!"
The girls didn't hesitate, and after ensuring that no one was in dire need of help or needed assistance, they immediately flew close together.
"Everyone hang on," Will said, wincing as she attempted to tele-transport back to the Infinite City.
A second later…
[FLASH!]
Will collapsed to the floor of Nerissa's hideaway, breathing heavily. No matter how many times she did it, she could never get used to tele-transportation.
"I need to practise," she muttered.
"Oh no!" Hay Lyn cried out, pointing across the room. The others followed the direction, and saw Cornelia kneeling by a smashed in wall with an unconscious Nerissa lying beaten and bloody on the floor.
Will squealed, as she saw Matt and Huggles also lying unconscious. She rushed over to her boyfriend, kneeling beside him and checking his vitals. Aside from some bruising, though, he seemed fine, as did Huggles.
Hay Lyn certainly had no love for Nerissa, but neither could she stand to see anyone hurt. And by the looks of her, Nerissa looked as if she had been beaten to hell and back.
"Is she alive?" Irma asked, hurrying over with the others.
"Yes, but Lillian's gone!" Cornelia replied frantically. "I got here and the whole place had been wrecked, Nerissa looked as if she'd been a contestant in Wrestlemania, and Lily gone!"
"Okay, okay!" Will tried to calm her friend hurriedly. "First things first." She knelt down beside Nerissa, checking her pulse and looking her over. "Irma, your mom's a nurse, isn't she?"
"Yeah," Irma replied hesitantly. "But I only know basic first aid. This looks beyond me."
"We'll have to get her back to the Palace then. The Castle Physicians and Healers can tend to her."
Hay Lyn winced. "Elyon isn't going to like that."
"Neither is the rest of Meridian," Taranee added. No one had forgotten Nerissa usurping their queen's power, or her attempt to take over their world and every other.
Needless to say, she was not well liked. It was doubtful anyone was going to be happy about her arrival.
"No choice," Will told them, and then moaned. "Time for another tele-transport."
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3 Hours Later; Royal Palace:
"What is she doing here?!"
No, Elyon was definitely not happy. They had brought Nerissa to the Palace's Main Hall. Elyon had still been resting from whatever Hexin had done to her, so Caleb had been in temporarily command. He had told the guards to do whatever the Guardians told them, including helping his mother.
Caleb had made no mention about his feelings concerning his mother. He had merely watched from a distance, as Nerissa was carried to one of the adjoining rooms where the healers could do their work. A short time later, Julian had come in, having been sent for by his son. He was waiting in the room with Nerissa now, guarding her.
Elyon had awakened, and as long as she didn't use her powers she was fine. No one as yet knew anything about what Hexin had injected her with, and the Meridians knew absolutely nothing about technology so they were ill equipped to offer aid. The best anyone could figure out was to take Elyon to Kandrakar and see if the Council could assist, which the Guardians would do after they spoke to Nerissa.
"Elyon, we've been through this," Will told her, still groaning from the latest tele-transport. "None of us are happy with her being here, but Lillian is gone and she's the only one who might know where she is. Do you really want to risk Lily's life over an old grudge?"
Elyon hissed below her breath, but said nothing. In the end, all she did was give a wave of her hand and left the room, indicating them to do what they wanted.
"How is the patient?" Will then asked, as Julian came in from the other room.
"The Physicians and Healers are finished with her for now," he told them. "They say she'll make a full recovery, and you can talk to her, but they warn you not to be long. The beating she got left her severely weakened, so she needs to rest."
Will nodded, noticing the small look of relief in Julian's face. You didn't need to be a genius to know that he still harboured some feelings for her, confusing as their relationship had been. Imagine finding out the woman you had a child with and loved for years was never the woman you thought she was, but someone else altogether?!
Cornelia wasted no time, and pushed past them all, heading straight into the room. The others sighed, and hurried after her.
Most of them winced when they saw the former Guardian lying in the huge bed, her face and most of her body wrapped in bandages, a wooden splint used to set her arm, another for her leg, and multiple cuts and grazes on her that had been stitched and bathed in some ointment.
The only one who didn't seem too affected by Nerissa's condition was Cornelia, but that was because she was too worried about her sister to be worried about someone else. She looked as if she was about to start asking questions, but Will beat her to it, not wanting her to be too rash.
"Nerissa," she said gently. "Can you hear me?"
The dark-haired beauty slowly opened her eyes and groaned, "Yes".
"What happened?"
She groaned again. "Hexin's…men…found us."
"Yeah, we figured," Irma muttered, but silenced at the hard look from Will. "What happened to Matt and Huggles?"
"Hexin created…some kind of new weapon…used Napoleon…to make them."
"Napoleon?!"
"Prisoner…Matt…he'll wake up…eventually."
"Where did they take Lillian?"
Nerissa gave another moan, though this one seemed more of emotional pain than physical.
"Nerissa!" Will placed both her hands carefully on either side of her one time enemy's head, looking straight into her eyes. "Lillian's not done for yet. Tell us where to find her and we can still save her."
"No…you can't…" Nerissa struggled to get up, only to groan painfully. Julian was soon at her side, helping her to sit up.
"Screw you!" Cornelia snapped. "We…"
"Cornelia!" Will snapped back, glaring at her. "I know you're worried, but this isn't the time!"
Not waiting for a response from her friend, Will turned back to the beaten sorceress. "Just tell us where they took her, if they did."
"Hexin knows…"
"Knows? Knows what?"
"He knows…you'll be coming…he sent a message…says…he expects you."
"Well, that's no surprise," Taranee commented. "Anyone would know we'd be coming for Lillian, and he knows we've got Nerissa here so…"
"Taranee!" Will moaned. "She says Hexin will be expecting us, which means he'll be bringing out the big guns for us."
"Big guns?" Julian asked blankly.
"She means that Hexin will have every weapon, every spell and every one of his warriors all ready for us when we come," Caleb answered for them.
"And we have yet to even defeat Hexin all by himself, let alone his army," Hay Lyn added dejectedly. "And this time we'll be fighting him in his own house, which means he'll have the high ground and everything."
"What else did he say?" Will interrupted, looking again at the down sorceress.
"If we want Lillian back alive…bring him…Heart of Kandrakar…by 8:00…tomorrow night."
"We can't give him the Heart!" Hay Lyn exclaimed worriedly.
"We won't," Will assured her. "Maybe we can trick him by…"
"Bring the Heart…" Nerissa continued. "If not…Lillian…dies!" She winced in pain. "Any sign of…resistance…or a trick…Hexin will kill her…sacrifice her for the ritual…then the Heart will be his."
"Why would he tell us to bring the Heart to him if he can just do this spell anyway?" Hay Lyn asked, confused.
"Maybe he has a conscience?" Taranee wondered aloud.
"No, that's the last thing he has," Will growled below her breath. "It's all about power!"
"Huh?" they all said.
"Hexin has one great weakness," Will told them. "His love for power! Whether it's the power of magic, or the power that he has over others, he wants it. He has Lillian and he knows we want to keep her from being harmed." She sighed. "He's just toying with us now. Plus, if we can bring him the Heart without him having to do the ritual, then that means he can have two Hearts for the price of one. Double the power!"
"But if we don't then Lillian will die and he'll get the Heart of Kandrakar anyway, and it's that Heart he wants more than anything!" Cornelia said frantically.
"I know," Will said lowly, looking lost.
"So…" Irma began slowly. "Hexin's got Lillian, he's at his place, which is bound to be packed with all his defences, from guards with high-tech weapons, to magic spells and protective charms, yadda yadda. And…what do we got?"
Everyone was silent.
To Be Continued…