Hello dear readers, this is the last chapter and will be a bit longer than normal. I hope you have enjoyed my story and as usual, I would really like to hear what you think.
Disclaimer: I don't own W.I.T.C.H.
The portal was gone, leaving no trace behind. Will was sure the heart could open a new portal to let her follow Henderson into the creature's alien world. However, she was not tempted doing that right now, and not without her fellow guardians. For the moment she needed to focus on the unconscious creature and her terrified parents of which probably soon would demand an explanation. But that would have to wait a little more, right now she just wanted to hug them and get them out of here.
Her mother had regained her composure as fast as she saw the creature was out cold and Henderson gone. Now she was standing over her husband together with her child to check him for any serious injuries. Will watched them from where she stood, William was clinging to Dean asking over and over again if he was alright, Susan checked his bruises and wounded arms while the unfortunate man himself tried to make things sound better than it really was.
She folded her wings and went over to them, "Mom, Dean…, William" she addressed them carefully, "How are you?"
"Will," Susan began, not entirely sure what to say "The old man, is he gone?"
"Yes."
"What about the creature, is it dead?"
"I doubt it, from what I have learned so far it can take a beating. I guess it is only unconscious. But from the angle on some of its limbs I don't think it is going to move anytime soon."
Her mother looked from Will over to the broken creature "So what are you going to do with it, take it to the place you spoke of earlier?"
"Yes, I will do so." Will answered, "But first I want to make sure you three are alright."
"I am alright, no worry," Dean said hastily.
"No, you are not!" came the stern reply from Susan, "You are bleeding from your arms and have bruises all over you."
"Here, let me see," said Will and took hold on Dean's arms. "Healing isn't really my specialty, that belongs to Cornelia and Taranee, but I can manage to do a little." With that said, Will gripped around her stepdads bleeding arms, let a warm flow of magic seep through her hands and closed the wounds. The entire process took only a moment and let no scar visible to see later. Both her parents watched speechless and will turned to her mother, "What about your legs, how are they?"
Susan blinked, "My legs?" Then she remembered what had happened to her earlier in the bed, "Oh, they are fine, those are only scratches, nothing more and they have already stopped bleeding but my trousers are although ruined."
"Sorry," Will said, "I can't help your clothes very much."
"Don't worry about that," Susan said and smiled at Will, "We are alive and breathing, that is all that matters." And then she hugged Will and gave in to her tears.
The teenager let her mother cry on her shoulders in the embrace.
Dean stood up, lifted William and joined their embraces, giving all of them a lovingly hug.
They stood like that for a while before Dean found his voice," So, you are going to take the creature to a place you called something, was it Kandrakar. Will you need help getting it there, I am sure we can find some solid rope to bind the creature and we can place it in the trunk on the car and drive it over there."
Will let go of her mother who had stopped crying, "Don't think about it," she said and smiled. "I believe I have a better solution." She stretched out her hand again and let the heart levitate back to here until it floated right above her open palm and said, "Dear Heart, would you please seal this being for me so I can take it to the council of Kandrakar."
The Heart responded by sending a pink beam that struck the evil creature. The creature immediately started to dissolve into tiny bright shining particles that was pulled up in the air and went into the Heart, sealing it inside from where none other than Will could release it.
Both Susan, Dean and her brother followed this with great awe, and when the last of the shining particles had disappeared into the Heart, Will turned to Dean. "Thank you for your offer to drive me to Kandrakar, but I am afraid no vehicle can do that. You see, Kandrakar is a special place and lies very far away, in fact it is not a place on earth but somewhere beyond this and every other universe, outside time and space really. So if you think the trip out here was a long one…" she added humorously.
"Okay," Dean said slowly, " I get it. From what I have seen tonight, I do not doubt what you are saying, but do you think you will be gone for a long time?"
"I don't know, but I do not think so. I know you want an explanation for all this, but before I can answer you, I will need some answers myself, especially what this creature concerns."
"Sounds fair to me," Dean said. "And by the way, do you think we can leave the basement now?"
"Yes, and the house too. Whatever the creature did to lock us inside should have been taken care of now as the creature is out cold," said Will.
"Then, shall we go," said Susan as she took William's hand, eager to leave.
They had just walked a couple of meters when Will suddenly remembered something and excused herself, "Sorry, just wait a moment." She turned around and jogged back to where they just had been, picked up something that lay on the floor and came back.
"What is that" Susan asked and watched the bundle in her daughter's arms.
"I almost forgot about the artifacts," she answered and let her mother see them, "I know they are broken and probably not hiding anything more, but I will take them with me, just in case. I wonder how the creature was able to break them if it couldn't do it by itself."
When they came up from the basement, it was just in time to see the early morning sunrise on the outside giving birth to a new day. She called back the Heart as they no longer needed its light. Will had felt she got back the power to create new light orbs back when she first had pulled out the Heart, but the warm light from it made her want to let it stay out a little longer. Perhaps also to impress the two adults a little bit. Now they walked through the corridor again, looking through the windows to see the snow-clad landscape.
Having nothing to stress for but not wanting to stay at the asylum for a moment longer than necessary, they packed their luggage and went outside.
They opened the huge wooden door and were greeted by fifteen centimeters of pure white snow.
"Great," said Dean, "I hope we don't have to shuffle this to get out of here."
"Well, it is a good thing we came prepared, the car has four wheel drive and studded tires, so if we drive slow, it will be alright." Said Susan and looked at the road that was hidden beneath the white blanket.
The car was covered with just as much snow as the ground around it, so they had to shuffle off some of it first. Dean sat down in the car and turned on the engine, while William jumped into the backseat. To everyone's great relief it started without any problem. Susan opened the door to get in when she realized that Will didn't follow her.
"Will," she said, "Aren't you coming?"
"No mom," she said with a calm smile, "I will go to Kandrakar so I can find a way to permanently get rid of the creature."
"Then we will wait for you."
"No, don't wait her in the cold for me, just go home and I will meet you there."
"But!"
"I will teleport, and even if there have to be a council meeting I will probably be home long before you."
"Not fair," her mother said putting up a fake frown.
"Now, off you go," said Will and closed the door after Susan, Dean stepped carefully on the pedal and the car started pushing its way through the snow.
Susan opened the window to say something to her daughter, but Will was faster.
"Bye everyone, have a safe trip home. I will see you there." She waved her hand before she disappeared in a bright light, leaving the stunned couple alone with their youngest child.
As the car was driving away from the parking lot, Susan looked back through the window and saw their footsteps in the snow. They went from the old building, down the stairs and over to where the car had been, making four imprints in the otherwise beautiful white element. Dean and Susan's prints were deep and the little trip had been enough to make them wet on their feet. William had walked lightly on the snow, but that was naturally as he was very young and didn't weigh nearly as much as the others. Will on the other side had barely sunken into the snow, she had walked upon it and barely left footprints at all. "How curious" Susan thought for herself, but her daughter's mysterious nature had to wait for a little longer.
As they came further and further away, the footprints became almost invisible against the white snow, then the road made a turn and she lost sight of treacherous gothic building and its secrets altogether.
Will found herself standing in the council hall, there were not as many people there as usual. It was only when WITCH arrived for their official missions that everyone had to be present. Will however was grateful she didn't have to face the entire assembly on her own, but the current oracle Yan Lin, Hay Lins' grandmother, was there to greet her with a smile that only a lovingly grandmother could do.
"Welcome Will," she said warmly, "I understand your little family trip didn't go entirely as planned."
"I guess you can say so," Will answered while looking down studying her shoes. She did not feel entirely well facing the oracle, as she was sure Yan Lin and at least some of the other council members knew her family had learned about her secret. She had a lot of explaining to do.
"You seem to be nervous Will," Yan Lin said sympathetically, "But it is not the creature doings. Is it about your parents knowing?"
"Yes."
Yan Lin smiled and let her old hand glide through Wills' fiery red hair. "It was very wise of you not to tell anyone as it could potentially have given you much trouble when you first became a guardian. On the other side, telling could also have relieved you of much of the burden having to tell your mother lies for you sometimes mysterious absence," she said knowingly. "But keeping all this a secret from your parents was at the very end entirely your own and your friends choice. No one has forbidden you from telling it, as you probably already know from your experience with Matt."
"But do you think they will understand," Will said. "All this must have been quite a shock for them, will they accept me for what I am now and not just an ordinary girl they thought I was, who goes to school and hang out with friends?"
"They are parents, I know they will understand, they love you and you love them back. That is what parents do. You have nothing to be afraid of."
"You think so?" Will said with hope in her voice.
"I don't think," the wise woman said, "I know."
"But you have to be strong for them. They are probably far more scared than you right now. You see, adults tend to think they know all about the world and they being the teachers and guardians of their children, so when this is challenged they become unsure and afraid. And you know what that can do with people."
"Yes, I know."
"That is good," Yan Lin said, "And if you are open for a little advice from me I will suggest you tell your friends when you come home, they will understand and help you. Together I know you can manage everything, you have proven that many times before. But right now I think it is time we take care of the creature you have sealed and I see you have brought something else with you."
Will suddenly remembered the bundle in her arms, "Oh yes of course. I brought with me the artifacts the creature was sealed inside, just in case."
"Don't worry about that," Yan Lin said and picked up one of them to study it, "When the seals were broken they became ordinary objects again. Nothing is left from the creature inside, but I think I will put them away in a storeroom for objects that have lost their magic, perhaps somebody would like to study them in the future. But then again, maybe Dean would like to have his arrow head back, it was after all his aunt's." Yan Lin picked up the named object and gave it back to Will. "Now I would like to hear the entire story of what happened."
"Well," Will began, "It all started with a letter that said Dean's aunt had died…" and then she told the entire story of what had happened and what she learned at the asylum.
After finishing her story, she asked Yan Lin, "There are some things I don't understand, why did my powers fail, why couldn't I summon any light in the basement when I needed it?"
"Your powers were there the entire time," Yan Lin said, "What prevented you from using it properly was your fear."
"But how?"
Yan Lin put the artifact back. "I am sure you have some questions regarding the creature, but the truth is, I do not know much either. It comes from a little known world and Kandrakar does not have any diplomacy with it, it is an old world with many strange and ancient creatures. The thought that somebody have had the power to summon it to earth is very disturbing indeed, the creature has nothing to do there and no other places outside its home world either. Not only that, but the doctor you speak of managed to get through the portal leading to it. That could also be a problem, but mostly for himself. I will look into it myself later, but first, let us send the creature to The Mist Tower, its doings is not without consequences. And oh yes, your question. You and your friends already have experienced what happened to your powers when your emotions become unstable. They can both increase and shrink, perhaps it lies in the creatures nature to make people feel weak and afraid."
"Oh, just wait until you see it." Said Will.
After they had locked away the creature, Will was ready to leave, but she had two last questions for the oracle.
"Dean got an arrowhead from his aunt. She must have known Dr. Henderson had found the rest and sent it to him in order to prevent the doctor from obtaining them all and release the evil creature. But in the end, it was the creature who got hand on them and broken half of them himself, despite the fact that he wasn't supposed to be able to break them. Do you have any idea how? And why didn't the creature attack Betty when she stayed in the asylum after it closed?"
"To answer your last question first; Since it never attacked Henderson nor Dean's aunt, even when she lived there, I guess the creature must have understood the best way for it to be released was to have somebody who knew about it's existence and somehow manipulate them into setting it free. After all, they were both looking for the artifacts. And to answer your first question; I do not know if it ever was impossible for the creature to leave the house, maybe it was a trick to fool Henderson in order to let him believe that he was in control. Maybe the creature knew where Henderson hid the other artifacts and just waited for the right opportunity. Then it could easily reach them when the time was right." Said Yan Lin.
Suddenly, Will understood it all "The wardrobe," she concluded, "But how did it break…" she stopped her own musings as she instantly figured out the answer. "The creature didn't break them, I did. When I fought it the first time, I collided with the wardrobe and destroyed it, the artifacts must have been broken in the process."
Yan Lin smiled, having reached the same conclusion herself, "Maybe it had planned to let you do so, or maybe it was sheer luck on its side. I don't think we will ever now. But right now I think you should go home, call your friends and make ready a hot cup of chocolate for your parents and brother when they come back. Trust me, it will do you all good."
Will thanked Yan Lin for her understanding and advices, then she let the Heart open a portal to earth and went through it, arriving home in the middle of the living room.
It was not before eight o'clock that two tired parents parked their car inside the garage and walked up the stairs to the apartment where they lived. The journey had been slow due to the snow that had fallen as far south as Heatherfield, and they still had to meet the lawyer on their way back who had forgotten the whole ordeal. There was no surprise when Dean said he didn't want to inherit that place, not even if someone paid him to take it. So the meeting with the lawyer was a rather short one.
Halfway up the stairs they met Irma who was carrying two bags with something inside that looked like sweets.
"Erhm, Hi," said Irma and smiled when she saw the weary couple who came up behind her. "Will called some time ago and told what happened," she began carefully, quite unsure on how Wills' parents would react to her now as they knew their secret. "Uhm, she didn't tell me everything, she said she would do that when everyone had arrived."
"Everyone?" Susan said.
"You, me, Cornelia, Taranee and Hay Lin," Irma answered fast.
"Figured it," Susan replied dryly. "Then why wait here, let's walk up and go inside, the drive was terribly long and I can't wait to sit down on a soft sofa."
They walked upstairs and were greeted by a cheerful Hay Lin when they opened the door. "Welcome home," she said, "There is dinner ready for you if you are hungry, Taranee and Will is in the kitchen and Cornelia is fixing the table, just tell me if there is anything you need." Having said that, she immediately spotted the torn clothes Susan and Dean wore. "Oh my, I will make sure Cornelia fix your clothes" (having an affinity to earth, Cornelia could easily mend and repair any material).
They didn't even have time to respond before the cheerful girl ran to tell Cornelia.
Dean closed the door behind them and walked into the living room where they found the blond girl setting the table. "Hello" she greeted them as she sat down the last of the plates she was carrying.
"Hi Cornelia," both Susan and Dean replied simultaneously.
"Hi Nelia," William followed suit, already knowing her and the others well from their "special lectures" when she and the rest of the girls were teaching him magic.
"Dinner is almost ready," Cornelia said, not knowing what else to say.
"Thank you very much, Susan said, but we have traveled the entire day and I would like to change my clothes first."
"Me too," Dean added.
"When you have done that, let Cornelia see to those," Hay Lin chirped from behind.
"No, don't think about that," Susan said.
Cornelia looked at them and saw their clothes, especially Dean's were a mess, "What happened to your clothes?" she said.
"The boogieman did it." Susan said.
"The what!" Came a shocked reply from Irma who had both her hands inside a bag with chocolate bars, not believing what she heard "But I have always have been told there is no such thing as the boogeyman!"
"That was what I thought too until last night," Susan said and looked at her with a knowing stare, "That and many other things."
Both Irma, Cornelia and Hay Lin was spared from having to answer that for now, because at that moment, Will and Taranee appeared from the kitchen with a saucepan and some pots. Susan and Dean hurried to change their clothes and after that, they all sat together around the table and listened to Will who told of what had happened.
"Wow" said Irma after a while when she held the arrowhead in her hand. "It is almost hard to believe that something that scary could come out of this little thing. It looks cool by the way. Is it really Indian?"
"Yes Irma." Dean said. "And if you think it is cool you can keep it."
"But it was a gift from your late aunt? And it is an historical artifact, doesn't scrap like that interest you?"
Dean laughed at Irma's choice of words, something never changed. "I am not the slightest interested to keep that little piece of scarp as you call it. Not after this."
"Okay then, thank you."
Later when dinner was finished, Irma did the dish wash in record time thanks to her water magic while Taranee made hot chocolate for everyone. Then it was time for the five girls to tell the adults about their powers and how they came to be guardians.
"I am sorry for keeping all this a secret from you two," Will said to her parents when the story was over. "I know it must be strange to you suddenly having to learn about all this. I hope you are not too angry at me for never saying anything."
Susan looked her daughter in the eye for a little while as she thought of what to say, but finally she decided what to speak. "Perhaps this was for the best." Susan said and gave her daughter an understanding smile, "It is much easier to accept this now when you have been doing this for years and feel safe about yourself, your powers and responsibilities, and not if you had been younger and far less experienced. I also fully understand that none of us would have escaped from that terrifying creature if it hadn't been for what you are doing, so I can safely say you saved our lives up there. Thank you. And judging from what else you have told me tonight, I see why this guardian duty is something you truly want to do, and I will not deny you that. I am also glad I now to have learned why you behave so strange sometimes. It will be easier now as I know why, and I will not try stopping you from doing your duty, but promise me always to tell when you are going so I don't have to worry. I guess this goes for Dean as well." First looking to her husband, who nodded positively, before she turned to the other W.I.T.C.H. girls. "But don't you think also your parents should now about this too?"
"No," the answer came from Irma, "Daddy police would never accept that I have greater authority than him. He would have a fit if he knew that after all his years as police he only has Heatherfield while I got every universe in existence," she said jokingly referring him to be responsible only for the (not so little) local police force in their home city.
"I don't think mom and dad would take it lightly that I expose myself to what they would see as danger, no matter what excuse." Taranee said.
"Mom and dad would have had a heart attack if they knew," Cornelia said, "And Lillian would never give me a break if she knew I could do magic."
"Hey, but I am sure your parents would cheer on you," said Irma and nudged Hay Lin friendly. "Remember, you have your grandma as your partner in crime and by coincidence also have one of the highest ranking offices in the universe. They wouldn't dare to refuse you anything."
Hay Lin giggled but said, "I don't think I would. I would like to keep it a secret, that way they won't have to worry about me whenever they don't see me around."
Dean watched his former students and said, "You are all becoming wonderful adults, whatever you decide to say or not to say is your own choice. Already you are far more experienced than most people are and must have learned much on your travels that will benefit you later in life. If you want to keep all this a secret, than you can count on us to keep it". Then he raised his left eyebrow and said with a grin, "On the other hand; if we tried to tell it, who would have believed us anyway?"
This gave off a reaction of giggles coming from the girls who imagined their old history teacher desperately trying to convince their parents that their daughters on regular basis traveled to worlds in other universes. That would have been a hilarious sight.
Everybody then gave the two adults a little glimpse of what they were able to do, they already knew Wills power, but having to be politely introduced to the TV, the telephone, the PC, the refrigerator and their bathroom weight (now Susan understood why Will had insisted on a mechanical one for herself) was quite an experience. Their adventures had to wait for another time as it was getting late and people had to go home.
When everyone had gone home, it was time for bed as they didn't get much sleep last night and they fell fast asleep.
Irma was home alone. Christopher was staying with a friend that night and her parents were visiting Anna's parents and now she was sitting watching TV, far into the late hours, eating chocolate and chips. As she was slowly falling to sleep in front of the zombie box, suddenly a freezing cold feeling swept up her spine and woke her from her slumber.
"What in the world was that?" she thought, "Why do I suddenly feel so cold, perhaps it is time to go to bed?"
Irma was just about to stand up from the sofa when she coincidently looked through the window right beside the TV.
What she saw made her eyes bulge and she screamed the loudest and most blood chilling scream she had done in her entire life. In her state of panic she did the first thing that came to her mind, which was teleporting herself away, and before she became any wiser, she found herself screaming standing on top of Will in her bed.
The reaction (from the sleeping girl under her) was immediate. After being so brutally torn out of her sleep, Will, and very soon her parents, found themselves trying to calm down a horrified Irma.
"Hhhhe waas there, staring at me thrthrough the wiwindow," Irma stuttered.
"Who was there?" Will asked.
"The most horrifying and terrible man I have ever seen, He had white hair, stiff and pointing to every direction like straw, his face was pale and didn't seem to fit, the skin was so tight that every tendon was visible and he looked at me with completely black eyes. Irma hulked.
"Irma I will call the other girls and we will go and have a look at it together." Will said and placed her arm around her friend.
"I tell you, there are no sign that anyone having been outside the window," Cornelia said sleepy and irritated to the water guardian. "There is twenty centimeters of untouched snow under it, you must have seen it on the TV."
"But I swear it was there," Irma replied.
"No, you are hallucinating."
"I am not!"
"Would you to stop bickering, it takes us nowhere," said Taranee as she tried to calm an angry Cornelia before she attacked Irma in her own house.
Whatever Cornelia or Irma were going to say next were suddenly interrupted by the shaky voice of Hay Lin, "No, Irma really did see someone."
Everyone turned to look at Hay Lin who stood pale and stared at the floor behind the sofa.
"But it wasn't outside the window. He was right behind her, what she saw was his reflection against the dark window glass. There are footprints here from someone who had walked in with snow on their shoes."
End…?
That was it. I hope you liked my story, it has been really fun writing this. I made a twisted end (perhaps you have read or seen a similar ending before cause I borrowed some elements to it) because:
One: I grew up with reading Goosebumbs by R.L. Stine who often use a twisted end.
Two: It is an open ending in case I, or somebody else(!), would like to write a follow up story.
I am gonna post some short stories later called "Enchanted days" and they will be (almost) without references to either the comic or the cartoon universe so everyone can read them as long as you like WITCH. I will write some more about them on my profile page later.
And pleaseee review and tell me what you think.