W.I.T.C.H

Chapter 29

True Colors

Kandrakar

The ten Guardians flew around the modified council room like mosquitoes. The air was filled with energy beams and elemental attacks. The original Guardians, W.I.T.C.H, had not expected their replacements to attack with pure energy, and were having a difficult time adjusting. The replacement Guardians, on the other hand, were born warriors, and had sensed their advantage and were pressing it strongly.

Cornelia had been backed up by one of her enemies, and was only able to defend her self with stone walls, that broke on the first blast.

"Will, we're getting our butts kicked!" She shouted over the sound of breaking stone, "We need to do something!"

"And make it quick!" Irma added. She too was on the defensive.

It was clear to all of them that this was not a fight they were winning. Not only were the new Guardians better warriors, but their powers were much stronger then that of W.I.T.C.H's. Will had done and seen a lot as a Guardian, but she had never faced power on this level. Even Phobos never had energy blasts as powerful as these.

Hay Lin was being chased around the top of the council room, but she still managed to sneak a hopeful glance at Taranee.

"Sorry." Taranee said. "I used up all my clever ideas on the Knights. Someone else needs to take this one."

"Will?" Hay Lin asked.

Will had her hands full with Orube, the self-proclaimed leader of the new Guardians. Will's years of flying experience was enough to avoid most of her foe's attacks, but the cat-like Orube had no problem fighting hand to hand as well, and with her claw like fingernails fully extended, Orube would have no trouble defeating Will in a fistfight.

Will managed to hit Orube with a bolt of lightning before Orube could get in to close. It was a glancing blow, but one that managed to buy Will a few moments of time. She glanced up to Endarno, still riding on his platform, surveying the battle. She remembered something that Buchan had said to them before they had left Meridian.

"Well, I do have a plan," she said, "but you're not going to like it."

Far from the battle, the Honor Guard checked their weapons. Although this was supposed to be a simple retrieval mission, they had learned long ago that it never hurt to be prepared for anything, and that meant being armed to the teeth at all times. For most of the warriors, weapons check simply meant making sure your sword, axe or dagger was sharp. For Walli, it was much more complicated.

Walli was an archer, and it was vital that his bow and arrows be prepared for a fight. His bowstring was made of Hermeneuta Beast gut, which was very light and very strong. His bowshaft was a composite bow made of wood and various animal fibers. Each arrow was custom made for a different range and strength level. It took several minutes for him to complete his check, but he did not mind. He found the routine soothing, and helped to calm him before battles.

Walli had never been to Kandrakar before, and was just now able to appreciate the grand scope of the fortress. Before he met the Honor Guard, he had only rarely left his village, and preferred the simple things in life. Now, he lived in a castle and was on another world. He knew this should bother him, but it didn't. He enjoyed his new life. Besides, he didn't have much of a choice.

"So this Engine powers Kandrakar, as well as these new Guardians?" Julian asked Yan Lin.

"Yes."

"And where is this Engine?"

"It is in the core of Kandrakar itself." Yan Lin said. "It will be well protected, and will not be easy to reach."

"No kidding. Exactly what type of defenses are we talking about here?" Raythor asked.

"I'm… not exactly sure." Yan Lin admitted. "Only those that operate it ever enter, and they say little about the path in. Few others have ever entered, and none have exited."

"Well, that's ominous."

"However, I know one of the core operators well, and do have some information. I know that there are five chambers you must pass before you reach the Engine." Yan Lin continued. "The chambers of control, commitment, endurance, strength and,"

"And what?"

"Even those who work in the Engine's core never talk about the fifth chamber. I do not know what it holds,"

"But it's not good." Caleb finished.

"Please, be careful." Yan Lin said. "I would not ask you to do this if I didn't think it was absolutely necessary.

"What do we do once we get in?" Vathek said. "How do we shut it down?"

"You don't." Yan Lin said. "All of Kandrakar relies on the power of the Engine. To shut it down would be… disastrous, to say the least."

"So what do we do then?" Walli asked.

"You just need to sever the connection between the Engine and the Guardians." Yan Lin said.

"Don't you mean 'we'?" Caleb said. "Aren't you coming with us?"

"No." Yan Lin said. "I am an old woman now, and I will only slow you down. My adventuring days are over."

"But how will we know what to do once we get there?" Caleb asked.

"Take this." Yan Lin said, handing Caleb a small, purple stone. "Talking stones. Hold it in your hand, think of me, and we will be able to communicate. I'll tell you what to do when you get there."

"Okay," Caleb said, "we'll…"

"Halt!"

The group spun to find two elders advancing towards them.

"Excellent work finding the insurgents." One of the elders said. "We will take them to the Tower of Mists for interrogation."

"No." Yan Lin said. "You won't."

"Elder Yan Lin," the other man said, "hand over the insurgents. Need I remind you of your sworn oath to obey the Oracle?"

"I swore to do what's best for Kandrakar until the day I die." Yan Lin said. "And if that means disobeying the Oracle, then so be it."

"Hand them over, or we will take them by force!"

"Yan Lin?" Caleb asked hesitantly.

"Go." she replied. "Save the girls. Get to the Engine."

"What about…"

"Go!"

The Honor Guard, lead by Blunk, ran off in the direction of the Engine, leaving Yan Lin to face the two approaching elders.

The Guardians, meanwhile, were having problems of their own. Their defensive strategy was beginning to fail, and the replacement Guardians appeared to be only moments away from winning. The girls fled from their attackers and tried to regroup.

"Will, we're powerless against them!" Cornelia said loudly.

"Let's face it gang, we're beat!" Irma added.

"We have to keep fighting!" Will said. "To the final breath!"

The Guardians, the true Guardians, responded with an inspired effort. Lightning bolts, blasts of water, fireballs, tornado's and giant stones all flew against their enemies. Against such an onslaught, most people would have fled in terror, but the replacement Guardians were trained warriors, and acted as such.

The new Guardians were too quick for W.I.T.C.H's attack. Orube evaded the elemental strike by dropping to the floor. Her teammates quickly followed her lead, and with knife like precision, once again attacked. W.I.T.C.H, exhausted from two straight battles, could do little to defend themselves. Orube tackled Will in mid-air and drove her through the council room wall. Will and Orube tumbled to the ground in the next room. Will shook her head and found herself staring at a large group of elders. The pair had crashed into the main sanctuary of Kandrakar, where many of the elders lived and worked. They had stopped their tasks and were staring at the combatants who had entered their midst. Will barely had time to process this when Orube leapt on her back, pinning her to the floor.

"Will!"

Taranee raced through the hole left in the wall, flying straight at Orube. One of the new Guardians hit Taranee in the back with an energy bolt, dropping the fire Guardian. One by one, W.I.T.C.H fell and were pinned to the ground.

Elyon and the Honor Guard, following Blunk's lead, headed towards the Kandrakar Engine.

"Don't suppose I can convince you to go back to Meridian?" Caleb said to Elyon.

"No, you can't." Elyon said. "So don't try to make me."

"Elyon, this is no place for…"

"I don't want to hear it, Caleb." Elyon said. "The Guardians are friends of mine too, and I have just as much right to risk my life for them as you do."

Caleb sighed, but said nothing. He had known Elyon long enough to know this was an argument he could not win.

Within a few minutes, the group had reached the entrance of the Engine.

"Here, in here!" Blunk said.

"Good job Blunk." Elyon said, giving him a pat on the head.

"Blunk action…"

"Yes, yes, you're an action hero, we all know." Caleb said. "What do we do now?"

A large, black door stood in front of them. Ancient Kandrakarian symbols covered the door.

"Blunk, what do these say?" Julian asked, running his fingers on the symbols.

"Entrance to Engine core. Authorized personnel only. Certain death to all trespassers." Blunk read.

"Lovely." Elyon said. "Caleb, why don't you ever take me anywhere nice?"

"What about this one?" Julian asked, pointing to a small sign above the door handle.

Blunk studied the sign for a few moments.

"Push to open." he said.

"Right then, let's go." Raythor said.

And with a push of the doors, Elyon, Blunk and the Honor Guard walked through the entrance way and onto a long, narrow walkway. Another tall, black door waited for them on the other side.

"Well this doesn't seem so bad." Drake said.

No sooner had the words left his mouth then the platform that they were standing on began to move. One by one, the walkway separated itself into many different pieces, each of which began flying across the room at incredible speeds. The same was true of the platform on which Elyon, Blunk and the Honor Guard were standing. Their platform began shooting uncontrollably across the room as well, leaving no way for them to get to the other door. The only piece of the walkway that hadn't moved was the one directly in front of the far door.

"Well, this is different." Vathek said.

"Didn't Yan Lin say this was called the Chamber of control?" Caleb said. "Doesn't seem like a very good name."

"Maybe we have to have control when nothing else does." Elyon said.

The movement was becoming faster and faster, and it was starting to take its toll on the Meridianites. All of them were getting queasy.

"How are we supposed to get to the other side?" Vathek asked, his familiar blue skin turning slightly green.

Walli surveyed the situation, and then turned to face Raythor.

"How attached are you to your sword?" he said.

"Why?" Raythor asked suspiciously.

"May I see it for a moment?" Walli asked.

Raythor reluctantly handed over the sword. Walli planted it firmly in the platform so that it stood upright. Next, he took an arrow with a long piece of rope attached to it. He notched the arrow and fired it at the far door, where it stuck. He tied the other end of the rope to the handle of Raythor's sword. A long piece of rope now connected the group with the door.

"Not bad." Caleb said. "I knew it was a good idea to have you on the team."

"Just doing my job." Walli replied.

One by one, the group shimmied across the rope to the far side. This was no easy task, as Raythor's sword, and therefore the rope, were still constantly rotating. Nevertheless, all nine members of the party made it across safely. Once they were all on solid ground, they pushed open the door and entered the next chamber.

Orube stood over Will, one foot on the girls' back, keeping her pinned. One of Orube's fists glowed with golden power and was aimed at Will's head. The other members of W.I.T.C.H were in similar situations, each with a replacement Guardian standing over them. Hundreds of elders surrounded this strange scene, each staring intently at the Guardians, waiting to see what would happen next.

Endarno flew his platform through the hole in the council room wall and into the sanctuary, where he hovered above Will.

"I hope that someday you will appreciate all I have done for you." Endarno said, looking down at Will.

"Excuse me?" Will said, each word a struggle.

"I worked hard to make sure you were out of my way as cleanly as possible." Endarno said. "I tried to see that you were comfortable. Eliminated, but comfortable. But you wouldn't do it. You had to come back. You had to be Guardians, and you had to get in my way! I hoped to avoid bloodshed, but now you've left me no choice."

"You shouldn't have taken my friend." Will said. "You shouldn't have taken Elyon!"

"Elyon?" Endarno said, surprised. "Elyon means nothing to me. Elyon is just a means to an end. I knew that if I ordered you to take her from Meridian that you would refuse, and that I could use that disobedience to remove you from your position as Guardians. Then you would be out of my way forever."

"So all this has just been about us?" Will asked.

"It's always been about you!" Endarno shouted. "It's never been about anything other the you five girls. You are different Will, I'm sure you know this. There have never been Guardians like you before. You are young, wild and free. You are independent. And most importantly, you are uncontrollable. Unpredictable. And that is unacceptable. I knew from the beginning that you could no longer be allowed to be Guardians. So I attempted to get rid of you."

"I, I don't understand." Will said. "Why do you hate us? Why do you want to get rid of us?"

Endarno opened his mouth to speak again, but for the first time, he did not like the strong, proud man Will was used to seeing. Instead, he seemed old and tired, as if he had been carrying a heavy burden for too long.

"I know things, Will." He said. "I know about what is coming, and I know the role that you five girls are destined to play. I know what you will do, even if you do not. I am forbidden to tell you what I know for as long as I live, but I cannot, I will not let it happen. You must not be allowed to continue being Guardians."

Endarno took a deep breath and continued.

"We are not so different Will. We are both strong and determined. We trust in ourselves more then anything else. And we both refuse to let anything stand in our way. Orube?"

Orube looked up at the Oracle.

"Kill them."

Orube's hands began to glow brighter, but before she could strike, she noticed two things. One, Will was smiling, and two, lightning had begun to race down Will's arm, towards her clenched fist. Before Orube could move out of the way, Will fired a bolt of lightning stronger then any she had ever fired before. It hit Orube square in the chest, sending her flying backwards. Irma, Taranee, Cornelia and Hay Lin each dispatched their attackers with similar ease, and each in their own unique way.

"Figured there was only one way to show the elders who you truly were." Will said, pointing to the crowd of Kandrakar elders who stood watching. "So we took a dive. We let your Guardians defeat us, and we made sure everyone saw it. You're nothing but a murderer, and now they all know it."

Endarno stumbled backwards on his platform, stunned. The elders were muttering to themselves. The Oracle had ordered his Guardians to kill a defenseless enemy? This did not fit Kandrakar's 'commitment to peace' motto. Perhaps they had made the wrong choice when they selected an Oracle.

Endarno paid no attention to any of that, however, for he was too busy staring at the five girls in front of him. W.I.T.C.H had gotten to their feet and were now united in front of him. Elemental power radiated off of them. For a brief second, Endarno truly realized what these girls were capable of, and he was afraid.

"And now," Will said, cracking her knuckles, "now we show you how the real Guardians do it."