W.I.T.C.H

Chapter 24

Braving the Unknown

Meridian

20 minutes Earlier

"No!"

"Caleb, wait!"

"Elyon, you can't be serious!"

"Let's think about this…"

"I won't let you!"

"You can't!"

"Everybody shut up and listen!"

The Guardians and the Honor Guard stood at various points around Elyon's throne room. Nobody knew quite what how to react to Elyon's idea.

"Elyon, run this by us one more time." Cornelia said.

"I'm going to give Riddle my power in exchange for him saving Matt."

"Elyon you can't!"

"Yes, Caleb, I can."

Heatherfield

Riddle stared at Elyon for a few seconds.

"You're going to give me your power?" he said.

"Yes."

"I know nothing about you. How do I know your power is sufficient?"

With a wave of her hand, Elyon disintegrated what was left of the walls holding up the roof of the building. The ceiling began fall on the group, causing Riddle to duck for cover. Before the ceiling hit, Elyon raised her open hand and used her power to suspend the roof in mid-air. She then closed her hand and the roof also disappeared.

"Very well, it seems your power will be more then enough." Riddle said, picking himself up from the floor. "Although I would ask that you don't destroy anymore of my building with your demonstrations."

"Fair enough." Elyon said. "Now, I assume we can start right away."

"Just one more question." Riddle said. "Purely a matter of curiosity, Will is Matt's boyfriend, but even she questioned giving her power to save him. So why are you, who have no relation to him that I know about, willing to do so much to save him?"

Meridian

18 minutes earlier

"Why are you doing this Elyon?" Hay Lin asked.

"Because Phobos, Nerissa and Dee all had one thing in common." Elyon began, "They wanted my power. And they hurt this city and its people trying to get it. That's the only reason they attacked. If I get rid of my power, Meridian is no longer a target for every tyrant and madman who's looking for power. It makes us safer."

Heatherfield

"Let's just say I have my reasons and leave it at that." Elyon told Riddle.

"Fine, if that's what you want." Riddle said. "Take me to Meridian."

Meridian

15 minutes earlier

"Have you thought this through my Queen?" Vathek asked.

"Yes I have."

"But your power is our best defense against threats." Caleb said. "Without it…"

"Meridian becomes safer." Julian interrupted.

"Father?" Caleb said. "You knew about this?"

"I've talked this over with Julian." Elyon said. "He agrees that my power is what's bringing these attacks to us."

"Giving up her power would, in all likelihood, stop or limit the series of attacks that Meridian has suffered." Julian continued. "There's never been an opportunity or a reason to get rid of it…"

"Until now." Elyon finished.

"I still don't like it." Caleb said.

"I know." Elyon said. "But it's what I need to do."

"Elyon, I can never thank you enough." Will said. "For you to do this,"

"It's the least I can do after all the Guardians have done for us." Elyon said. Will gave her a hug.

"Okay, lets go to Earth."

Meridian

Now

Elyon sat in the hallway, waiting patiently. Riddle had taken Matt back to the Institute and Will had gone with him, as well as doctor Patillo. Taranee had suggested that everyone else get some much-needed down time, so the Guardians and the Honor Guard were in the mess hall. Except for Caleb, who was in the training room, and Elyon who was sitting in the hall thinking. She looked up when she heard the sound of footsteps approaching. Miriadel walked down the hall and sat beside her adopted daughter.

"Penny for your thoughts, my dear?" Miriadel asked.

"It's Caleb." Elyon said. "I'm worried about him."

"Matt's near death and you're about to give up your power, but it's Caleb you're worried about?"

"You know what I mean." Elyon said with a smile. "I knew he wasn't going to like my plan, but I didn't think he would take it this badly. Why can't he just accept what has to happen?"

"Caleb's different then me or you, Elyon. I had my whole childhood before Phobos took over, and you only found out about Meridian two years ago. But Caleb was born under Phobos's rule, and even though he didn't know you until recently, he's been fighting for you his entire life. Now he feels like he's failed you because of what you have to do."

"But it's not his fault." Elyon said. "If anything it's mine."

"It's nobody's fault." Miriadel said. "It's just the way life works. Now what about you? Are you prepared for what you have to do?"

"Of course not." Elyon said with a laugh. "How can I be?"

"You do fine." Miriadel said.

"Thanks mom."

Miriadel stood up to leave as Elyon continued to think. She smiled, and thought about how much Elyon had changed in the last couple of years. Then she turned and walked back down the hallway.

Heatherfield

Will sat and stared at the door separating her from Matt. It felt weird being in the Institute again. Her thoughts were interrupted by the glow of a fold. Cornelia stepped through and sat beside her.

"How are you doing?" Cornelia asked.

"I guess as well as can be expected." Will said with a shrug.

Cornelia didn't say anything; she just sat in silence beside her friend.

"Do you think this is it?" Will asked at last.

"What do you mean?"

"As Guardians." Will said. "It was fun when we were going to different worlds and being heros but," Will pointed to the door, "is it worth it?"

Cornelia stared at the door. They had all been thinking the same thing ever since Taranee broke up with Nigel over the Guardians, but Cornelia never thought that they would actually stop being Guardians. But that was before Matt. Now, things didn't look so clear.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the opening of the door in front of her. Riddle walked out, brushing the sweat of his forehead. Will stood up quickly.

"Well?" she said.

"He's on his way to a full recovery, as is to be expected." Riddle said.

Will breathed a sigh of relief.

"Can we talk to him?" Cornelia asked.

"Not yet, I'm afraid." Riddle said. "He's still unconscious. Patillo will take him back to Meridian. He should be awake in a couple of hours."

"Can I at least see him?" Will asked.

"Of course." Riddle said. "Go with him to Meridian, tell your friends the good news. I await your return with Elyon."

The two girls helped Patillo take Matt back to Meridian, where they were met with cheers.

Meridian

"I don't know how he did it." Patillo said. "There were things in that room that I'll never understand. All I know is that Matt is healing very nicely. He'll have some scarring on his hands, but no lasting damage."

"I suppose it's time to uphold my end of the bargain." Elyon said.

"Not without me."

Caleb entered the room for the first time since Elyon announced her plan. He headed straight towards his Queen.

"I'm with you to the end." he said.

"Thanks Caleb. For everything." Elyon said. Then she created a fold to Heatherfield.

"Alright, let's get this over with."

Heatherfield

Riddle, Elyon and Caleb stood in large, dark room. The room was filled with a wide variety of dials, buttons, and turning gears. Riddle was wearing a full lab coat and thick tinted goggles. He was going around the room double-checking each measurement and reading. He had done too much work to be done in now by a missed calculation.

Caleb also wore a lab coat and goggles similar to Riddle. Riddle had made it quite clear that Caleb was not needed in the room during the procedure, but Caleb had insisted he be there. He was looking back and forth quickly between Riddle and Elyon, trying to keep an eye on both.

Elyon stood facing the wall. Her hands were placed in two hand shaped holes in the wall, which seemed to lead to a large empty space behind the wall. Sensors and wires surrounded her, all being used to measure the amount of energy she was about to release. She looked at a dark window on the far side of the room. Although she couldn't see them, she knew the Guardians, the rest of the Honor Guard and doctor Patillo were behind the window. She gave them a weak smile, a smile that quickly faded once she turned away.

"Alright, Elyon." Riddle said, "It's very important to pay close attention to what I say during the procedure. You can't just unleash all your power at once, the results could be… disastrous."

"What do you mean by that?" Caleb asked.

"Caleb, it's fine." Elyon said, trying to reassure her friend. "Just tell me what to do, Riddle."

"Whenever you're ready," Riddle began, "fire a weak blast into the chamber. Only about ten percent of what you could do, and only till I tell you to stop. Understand?"

"Yes." Elyon said.

She took a deep breath, and then began. As she poured power into the chamber, the walls of the room began to glow with energy. Lights that were dark before now shone brightly.

"Stop!" Riddle said after a couple of seconds. "Amazing." He said. "Your power is amazing."

He made some modifications to some of the machines, and then turned back to Elyon.

"Okay Elyon, now fire another blast, this time about half of your potential. When I say so, increase your power to about 80 percent. Ready?"

"Ready."

"Now."

Elyon shot another blast into the chamber. This time, the room glowed even brighter. The tinted goggles both Riddle and Caleb wore protected their eyes.

"Now, Elyon!" Riddle said, "Increase the discharge!"

Elyon did as she was told. Sweat started to pour down her face from the effort. The room seemed ready to explode. The lights shone brighter and the gears turned faster. Riddle pressed a button and the power flowed to the corners of the room. Riddle pressed another series of buttons and the power was shot into the center of the room, where a faint blue glow was beginning to form. After a few seconds, the image of a portal became clearer and clearer.

"Now Elyon! Everything you've got!"

Elyon gave one last final push of power into the chamber. Her knees were now starting to shake.

The portal in the center of the room was almost fully formed now. Riddle ran over to one side of the room and opened a small door. He pulled out a large knapsack containing everything he would need in Meridian. Then he turned to the window that the Guardians were standing behind.

"Thank you for giving me this opportunity girls. I apologize for any harm I might have caused."

He then turned to Elyon.

"Once I am gone, you can stop Elyon. Thank you."

He put on his knapsack, and headed for the portal.

"I'm coming my love." He whispered. Then he walked into the portal, and into the unknown.

Elyon shut off her power the second Riddle disappeared, then fell to the ground unconscious, all of her power drained from her. Caleb ran to her as the Guardians and the Honor Guard burst into the room.

"Is she alright?" Will asked.

"She's exhausted." Patillo said, kneeling beside Elyon. "She's used an incredible amount of power. She just needs some rest and she'll be fine."

Will quickly opened a fold to Meridian and the group left the building. Once again, the Institute was left dark and empty. The humming had stoped, the lights were out, and the gears no longer turned.

Meridian

"She did all that for me?" Matt asked.

It had been hours since Matt had been saved and Riddle had gone through the portal, and it was now almost night on Meridian. Will sat beside Matt's hospital bed. He had just woken up and Will had spent the last twenty minutes explaining what had happened. Two beds down, Elyon slept peacefully. She had awoken twice since the procedure, and seemed physically fine. All tests showed that she no longer had any of her former power.

"She did it for everyone." Will said. "You, Meridian. Even Riddle."

"I can't believe you gave him what he wanted." Matt said. "You should have just…"

"He wasn't an evil man." Will said. "He was just doing everything he could to be with the people he loved. Now that I know what that feels like, I don't blame him."

"Even if he was the one who made you feel that way?"

Will didn't say anything. Looking at Matt, she knew they made the right choice, but there were still so many questions. Could they still be Guardians now that they knew what they had to lose? And what was going on in Kandrakar? Will had tried again only an hour ago and still couldn't reach the fortress. Will knew that Kandrakar could have saved Matt without Elyon giving up her powers. How could they close their doors in the Guardians darkest hour?

"Hey," Matt said, leaning up, "Thanks for saving me."

"Same to you." Will said with a smile.

She gave him a kiss, and he leaned back and went to sleep. The questions would wait, she thought. For now, she was just happy to have Matt back. She stared out the window, watched the sun set, and waited for morning.

Authors Note

Wow. 81 days and 33,001 words later and it's finally done. I hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I do plan on doing a season 4, but I'm going to take a bit of a break before I do. Keep your eyes open. As always, I appreciate any feed back on this story, and what you'd like to see next time. Thanks for reading!

Special thanks to:

Chaotic9 and ForeverHalfa, my first fans.

Mooncloud217 from W.I.T.C.H-O-HOLIC and HeartofEarth from Youtube for getting me hooked on W.I.T.C.H