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Chapter Text

There is an alternate universe where a rebellion is taking place. The force of Good against an evil ruler, locked in a stalemate.

There are five ordinary kids on Earth-

"Um...excuse me, Mr. Richardson? There are five more kids here."

Oh, thank you, Benjamin. Yes, TEN ordinary kids on Earth who must stand united. Who must fight this evil... And who must WIN.

Meridian...

A world that exists completely separate from the Earth. One could make comparisons from it to Medieval Europe, complete with castles. One such castle was the one that stood on the mountaintop, one that seemed fit for a cruel and dark leader. The architecture was almost completely black from the outside, with a vast swirling purple vortex hanging above it as the castle stood over a small town: a symbol of dominance and oppression.

Inside was what appeared to be a small armory. It was relatively unguarded as the only sentry appeared to be sleeping. A shadowy figure snuck through the window and went to a nearby crate, opening it up to reveal several swords neatly stacked inside.

"Phobos steals our weapons to use against us." The figure, a young man, said quietly to himself as he scowled.

He turned and spotted a bow and a set of arrows hanging from the wall, which he was quick to grab.

"Aldarn's father made this bow."

The boy was tall with brown hair and green eyes. He wore a brown trench coat over a grey shirt and pants with brown boots.

The young man quickly and quietly made his way to a pile of barrels containing explosive powder. He picked one up and put it into a small window before putting another one in to push the first barrel out. The barrel fell down and into the moat below, where the young man's comrade, a green-skinned humanoid with small horn-like features along his head, used a hooked rod to pull the barrel, followed by several others that fell one at a time.

"Okay, that's enough. Get out." The green-skinned young man whispered, knowing his friend was in great danger the longer he stayed in that armory.

His worries were proven correct as while Caleb had been pushing the barrels out, a sentry on the balcony below noticed the barrels falling and, after a brief bit of panic, quickly went to alert his comrade.

"Hey! You!"

"Looks like Plan B," Caleb said when he realized he was busted. Quickly, he grabbed a rope from the ceiling and swung toward a stack of boxes, while grabbing a torch with his free hand in the process as he landed.

He stuffed the torch into a barrel of powder and threw it, almost like one would throw a grenade. The two guards panicked and ran, the barrel following them into a room, which they quickly ran back out of along with another of their comrades as the barrel exploded.

Unfortunately, this alerted all the other guards, who quickly stopped whatever they were doing to grab their weapons as one of them sounded a horn.

As the guards charged into the armory, Caleb threw another barrel and fired a flaming arrow at it toward the wall, creating another explosion that blew away the wall and much of the armory, giving Caleb the opening that he needed as he dived out and into the water.

However, as he surfaced to swim back to his friend, a massive eel-like water monster emerged behind him. Luckily, his green-skinned friend, Aldarn, threw his hooked rod into the beast's throat, making it squirm and fall back into the water as he pulled Caleb to safety.

Unfortunately, the guards began firing arrows at the two friends, who were forced to leave the barrels behind as they fled. Back in the destroyed armory, as a few guards went after the boys and helped their injured comrades up, an enormous shadowy figure emerged from the smoke and picked up one of the guards by the collar.

"Who did thissss?"

"A boy…!" The guard coughed. "One of the rebels…!"

The giant figure tightened his grip angrily.

"Find him!"

On Earth, a mild storm was brewing over the bustling town of Heatherfield.

One of the most prominent spots in the city was a local Chinese restaurant known as 'The Silver Dragon', which was also home to the Lin Family. The occupants were a young 15-year-old girl named Hay Lin, her parents, and her grandmother, Yan Lin.

However, the restaurant had another occupant among them, a young man the same age as Hay Lin, but who was so tall that one would mistake him for an adult. His name was Fraost, and he had been living with the Lin Family for as long as he could remember.

Yan Lin was currently tending to some laundry in the living room area when she suddenly heard a loud, booming sound upstairs. Before she could dwell on what was going on, she saw the cabinet door on her right open slightly, almost automatically, to reveal a cracked-open chest with a strong pink glow emanating from it. She gave an audible gasp as she knew what it meant.

When she heard the door opening behind her, she was quick to close the cabinet and turned to see the distressed face of her granddaughter.

Hay Lin had a fair complexion, long dark purple hair done up in two long pigtails, and brown eyes. Seeing her arrive, Yan Lin was quick to close the cabinet before she could see what was inside.

"Grandma, I sneezed and like totally trashed my room. What's wrong with me?" The young girl asked worriedly. "It's not one of those 'becoming a woman' things, is it?"

"Hay Lin, you're just a growing girl." Yan Lin tried to assure her. "It's all a part of growing up."

"Ugh...it's too early for this..." Moaned a sleepy young man's voice as Fraost came in.

Fraost was a tall, handsome young man with a slender yet fit physique. His hair was long, wavy, and the color of freshly fallen snow, and his eyes were a deep purple.

"Rise and shine, Fraost." Hay Lin sarcastically said. "If you saw what happened to my room, you'd wake right up."

Fraost smirked lightly as he helped himself to some tea, his mood brightening.

"And what exactly happened?"

"I sneezed."

"And this is groundbreaking, how?"

Hay Lin pouted and handed Fraost a plate.

"Oh, just shut up and eat!"

Fraost looked confused for a moment, then shrugged and started eating his breakfast.

"Say, why not invite some friends over for an after-school snack?" Yan Lin suggested, knowing she needed to hurry things along for the right moment before the cabinet shook again.

"What's in there?" Hay Lin asked, slightly frightened.

"Oh! Christmas presents! Don't look!"

"Is there a bear cub with a flashlight in there or something?" Fraost sarcastically asked.

Fraost was never one to show his emotions much, but he did have a sense of humor that was sharp like a knife and dry like the desert. Despite this, he and Hay Lin were inseparable, a regular opposites-attract duo.

Yan Lin was quick in her own words, knowing what she needed to tell her granddaughter and the family tenant what they needed to hear to get things moving.

"You can invite Cornelia and Taranee and that funny girl Irma!"

"Sure!" Hay Lin smiled, happy to invite her friends over. However, Fraost was not one to be left out.

"What about Nagare, Karma, Edgar, and Apollo?"

"Oh! Yes! Bring them too!" Yan Lin smiled, glad to see that Fraost was able to set things up by himself.

"And that new girl, Will!" Hay Lin chimed in before humming to herself. "Huh, I wonder why I thought of her."

"You're a good person. She's new in town. Simple as that." Fraost mused with a smile.

"And the fact she's a girl has nothing to do with it?" Hay Lin smirked.

"Meh. She's not my type." Fraost shrugged. "Now come on. We better hurry."

"Yeah, let's hope you don't hit your head on anything." Hay Lin teased.

"One time." Fraost groaned as they headed out, he himself ducking under the door. "You do it one time and they never forget…."

Yan Lin sighed as they finally left, the door behind her trying to force itself open again.

Sheffield Institute was a high school that taught both middle school and high school classes. A little red car drove up to the front gates to drop off the school's newest student, a young 14-year-old girl with short bright red hair in a bob cut and big brown eyes, as well as a cute splash of freckles across her face.

"Go on, Will, and don't forget, make lots of new friends today." Her mother told her with a loving smile. "I put a dozen extra cookies in your lunch to help break the ice with the other girls."

"Gee, that'll make me popular," Will said with a gentle, sarcastic tone before smiling as she waved her mother goodbye and turned to the school.

The inside was like any other school: hallways, lockers, some graffiti, and students. Luckily, no one paused what they were doing and glared at her like in the movies, so Will hurried to her locker

"OOF!"

"OUCH!"

CRASH!

"Oh, great!" Will mused. She'd been in such a hurry and reading her notes that she had crashed into someone! "Oh, double great!"

And it was a boy, no less! A cute boy!

He was 15 years old, a year older than Will, with neatly trimmed black hair and pale Caucasian skin. The most catching thing about him that Will noticed was his eyes, which were a brilliant golden amber.

"I'm so, so sorry!"

"Oh no, no, no! That's all on me." The boy said, helping Will to her feet. "Too busy texting and not checking where I was… Say, are you new? I don't think I've seen you before."

Will gulped, but managed a nod.

"Yeah, we just moved. I'm Will."

"Will?" The boy checked his phone, and his eyes widened. "Will Vandom?"

The girl tensed but nodded nervously. The boy smiled and offered her a hand to shake, an embarrassed smile on his face.

"Yeah, sorry. That was kind of creepy. I know your name because the Principal volunteered me to give you a tour of the school."

Will let out a breath and shook the boy's hand.

"Well, better you than…anyone else, I guess…?"

"Nagare." The boy smiled. "So…where shall we start, Miss Vandom?"

"Whatever's easiest for ya. And don't call me Miss."

"Sorry."

Meanwhile, back in Meridian, Caleb and Aldarn had made it well past the castle, but they didn't stop running, since the guards were very well on their trail by now.

"I told you to take a rope!" Aldarn scolded his friend.

"You also told me I couldn't break into the castle." Caleb joked as he handed Aldarn the bow he carried. "Here's your father's bow. At least this won't be used against us-!"

Caleb's words were cut off when he almost slipped and fell off the edge of the canyon, but he was able to stop himself. The two then turned to see the army closing in on them, but luckily, down in the canyon were ostrich-like creatures.

"Huggons!"

With the small army closing in on them, the two rebels ran along the side of the canyon.

"How far down do you think it goes?" Aldarn asked.

"Jump, and I'll tell you." Caleb sarcastically replied as they jumped towards a small stone tower that was closer to the ground, before jumping to another that hung right over the Huggons. Once they were close enough to jump without injuring themselves if they landed on the ground, they each leaped onto a Huggon.

After managing to rustle the creatures, the two friends were able to escape, leaving the army to angrily cry out in frustration at their enemies slipping through their grasp.

Back on Earth at Sheffield Institute, the sky had cleared up, and the students were in the gymnasium to present their science projects. One of the groups was a trio of girls: Cornelia Hale, Taranee Cook, and Irma Lair, Hay Lin's best friends.

Cornelia was very tall and elegant with a slender build; her blonde hair was long and thick, and her eyes were an icy blue. Taranee was an African-American girl with blue-black hair and wore round black-rimmed glasses over her brown eyes. Finally, Irma had shoulder-length wavy auburn hair and greenish-blue eyes.

"Cornelia! Our project is supposed to prove that too much fertilizer reverses osmosis, killing the plant!" Taranee said. "Yours has grown like three inches!"

"Well, I tried to kill it. I fertilized its little butt off!" Cornelia said in annoyance.

Not too far away, three boys looked ready with their own project: a hypothetical 'perfect' route throughout the solar system, while still taking in all that an astronaut would need to survive…and at a reasonable cost too.

Was it pushing the envelope on what counted as a 'science fair' project? Maybe, but no one ever told them no, so all was good...Well, except for the fact that one of the boys seemed distracted.

"Where the heck is Nagare?!"

"Give him some time, Karma. You know he'll be here." Another boy said as he touched up on the display.

"Oh, shut up and let me have this, Ed! We both know he'd be doing the same if it were me!" Karma said..

Karma had black hair with red dyed streaks. He was also heterochromatic, meaning he had two different colored eyes. His left eye was a sharp crimson red, while his right eye was a smooth emerald green. Fittingly, Karma was the wild card, always cracking jokes and messing around while enjoying life as it was.

"Do not call me Ed. It's Edgar." The other boy sighed.

Edgar had short brown hair, cool ocean-blue eyes, and more rectangular glasses with brown rims. It was clear from his posture and stance that he was the intellectual among his friends.

"Guys, stuff it. The sooner this is done, the better. Besides, I'll help ya deal with Nag, Karma." The third boy said,

Karma beamed at this and hugged the other boy

"Apollo! Old buddy! Old pal! Old chum of mine! You understand!"

"Let me go or you'll feel the worst male pain," Apollo demanded, and Karma did as he was asked.

Finally, Apollo was a relatively shorter-than-average young man with wild silver hair and onyx-colored eyes. Despite this, he had a fit, slender build, but it was clear that he was not one to piss off or make fun of lightly.

Back with the girls, Irma turned around and let out a silent gasp.

"The judge...!"

Sure enough, the judge and the school principal, Ms. Knickerbocker, were coming their way. Irma and Taranee quickly tried covering for Cornelia as she hastily smashed her plant to make it look as dead as the other two. Thankfully, it didn't seem like the judge or the principal noticed.

"Oh great, you and your little girly fists are gonna cost us a ribbon," Irma said through a forced smile with Taranee, trying not to look suspicious at all.

Just as Cornelia finished pounding her plant, it recovered almost immediately, as if some magical force was at work.

"And this is the gymnasium!" Nagare said as he entered with Will. "Yeah, it's the Science Fair today. But don't worry! You're new, so you get a free pass out of it!"

"Oh, cool," Will said as she followed Nagare, looking around at some of the stuff the other students had made. Unfortunately, she happened to pass by four punkish-looking teenage boys.

"Hey, check out the new girl." One punk noticed her. "Hey, Wilma."

"It's just Will." She glared at him.

"Okay, Wilma!" He teased again, resulting in his pals laughing, only for Nagare to give them an icy stare.

"Do I need to remind everyone in school of the Bathroom Incident last year, Uriah?"

This shut the punks up as Nagare and Will made their way over to the stands, where Irma, Taranee, Cornelia, Karma, Edgar, and Apollo were. Hay Lin and Fraost had also just arrived.

"That's Uriah. Ignore him." Hay Lin said to Will.

"Yeah, evolution sure did." Irma cracked. "One day, we expect him to slither back into the water."

Edgar scoffed. "Honestly, how could an ignoramus bunch like him and his cronies even dare sully this fine establishment?"

"Well, look who decided to show!" Karma smirked before he saw Will and gasped. "Why Nagare! My dearest, darling saint of a brother! Have you been running around with THIS lovely lady instead of…!"

Nagare bonked Karma on the head,

"Shut up." He curtly said before spying Will's confused look. "Oh, no worries: This here's Karma, my idiot brother."

"That term is subjective and hurtful!" Karma smirked, but he was ignored.

"The midget is Apollo…"

"I'll kick your ass for that later!" Apollo snapped.

"The nerd is Edgar."

"One, I resent that. Two, hello there." Edgar said, not turning to check until the project was immaculate as it should be.

"Finally, the big guy is Fraost. Don't worry, he wouldn't hurt a fly." Nagare finished.

Meanwhile, right as one of Uriah's pals took a drink from a nearby drinking fountain, the water sprayed out and flew through the air before splashing Uriah in the face.

"Hey!"

"Sorry, Uriah. I dunno what happened."

The five girls shared a quick laugh while the boys all smirked.

"Whoever is currently haunting the school, thank you!" Karma called out as he looked up at the ceiling.

"Oh, Hay Lin, I got your note," Will said as she turned to Hay Lin and showed the note in question. "Thanks so much for the invitation. So what time are we eating?"

"She invited 'New Girl' to?" Cornelia whispered to Taranee and Irma, who gave her dirty looks.

"Cornelia!"

Unfortunately, Taranee's scolding caught Will's attention. An awkward pause filled the air as she shyly held up the box of cookies her mom packed.

"Want a cookie?" She weakly asked.

"I would LOVE a cookie, thank you!" Karma beamed.

"You had cookies?!" Nagare gasped with a beam, then adopted a hurt look. "And I wasn't worth one?"

Will chuckled at her guide's reaction; now definitely able to see the resemblance between him and his twin.

"Oooooh! They're homemade!" Edgar beamed, interest in the project gone.

"Can I have one, please?" Apollo asked.

"I'll take one if you can spare," Fraost added.

Back in Meridian, within the very same dark castle that Caleb escaped from, was a large and dark throne room with dark purple stained-glass windows all around, as well as large pillars decorated with black roses.

The occupant of the room sat upon a black throne that was perched high on top of a long set of stairs behind a large tree of thorns. He was a young man with long white hair, wearing a black and red royal robe along with a dark red crown. His skin was pale and somewhat olive in color, and he had a goatee as well.

Another man entered the chamber; he had the appearance of a young man with short blonde hair and purple eyes, wearing noble green robes. He bowed before the man on the throne.

"Prince Phobos. We have had a breach. The armory has been destroyed, and the interlopers escaped the main guard. We suspect they head for the mountains."

The man on the throne, Prince Phobos, was none too pleased to hear this.

"The more success the Rebels have, the more it emboldens the peasants to rise up. This is too important to leave to guards."

"Yes, my prince." The other man said with a hiss at the end before his eyes quickly turned into reptilian slits as he underwent a powerful transformation.

The man grew in size and strength, his skin turning to green scales, his legs melting together into a long, thick, muscular, serpentine tail, and his muscles grew exponentially.

"I shall handle it myssself!"

Hay Lin and Fraost had brought everybody over to the Silver Dragon after school. The boys were a bit more lively in their conversation than the girls were.

"Hey! Keep all that noise down!" Irma suddenly barked, causing everyone to stare at her. "I was being ironic..."

"So, Will, where did you go to school before Sheffield?" Taranee asked.

"Hello!? Who cares?" Cornelia spoke up. "Have you guys noticed a bunch of really strange stuff going around me lately?"

"Oh dear!" Karma said with a fake gasp. "The conversation has accidentally wandered away from Cornelia's life. Whatever were we thinking?"

This caused everyone else, minus Cornelia, to burst into chuckles as Nagare gave his brother a fistbump before Yan Lin came in, carrying a box.

"Enjoying your food?"

Everyone smiled and nodded before Irma smirked.

"But the important thing is how is Cornelia enjoying 'her' food."

Cornelia gave Irma a dirty look, which only made her giggle in amusement. As this was going on, Will took a fortune cookie and cracked it open to read the fortune inside.

"You will make a new best friend." She read before looking to Irma, who gave her a subtle wink in response.

"What's in the box, Grandma?" Hay Lin asked when she noticed Yan Lin putting down the box she was carrying on the table.

"Oh, excuse me." Yan Lin cleared her throat. "Let me tell all of you a story that I believe may have a special meaning for each and every one of you."

"Grandma, they really don't want to hear a story." Hay Lin said, looking a little embarrassed.

"I would!" Karma said. "Snacks and a story? What more could a fella want?"

"I could go for a story," Fraost mentioned. "Get away from schoolwork for a bit."

"Me too!" Edgar and Apollo beamed together.

Nagare smiled as he turned to Will.

"Usually they're at each other's throats, but offer to tell a story and these two are perfect angels. Besides, anything to keep Karma in line."

Will giggled at that as Yan Lin shushed everyone before tapping the air behind her, causing a sudden magical ripple that projected an astral image of what appeared to be the known universe. The ten teenagers' eyes all widened in alarm.

"Fraost, please tell me this place has special effect devices hidden around..." Edgar nervously said.

"We don't..." Froast started. Despite his usual calmness, this was scaring him: Yan Lin never did THIS when she told a story before!

"Long ago, the universe was once a single kingdom ruled by good. But evil began to take root." Yan Lin began her story. "A veil was created to isolate the evil kingdom of Meridian from all other worlds. Without the protection of this veil, every world, including Earth, is in terrible danger."

The magical projection showed a green planetoid that represented Meridian being covered by black roses and thrones, with a purple and vibrant aura surrounding the planet to represent the veil.

"Okay, I think I can see where this story is going..." Karma nervously said.

"Meridian has been overtaken by a powerful entity named Phobos. But he is not the legitimate ruler." As Yan Lin spoke, a projection of the aforementioned Phobos appeared, sitting on a throne with a cold, merciless glare. "They believe that the true heir to the throne is somewhere here on Earth."

"Um… I'd like to wake up now." Irma voiced.

"But portals have begun to open in the Veil. Doorways from which evil can cross between worlds. Yan Lin continued.

The magical projection showed a blue swirling portal for emphasis.

"There has to be a very logical explanation for this-" Edgar began before being smacked upside the head by Fraost. "Ow, why did you-?"

"Be quiet and let Grandma finish."

He may have kind of been scared, but Fraost would never be rude. He'd sit through this.

"There are people called Guardians whose job it is to close these holes using their magical powers." Yan Lin then snapped her fingers as the projection vanished. "I became the Guardian when I was your age. But now the duty is passing to your generation."

"Whoa, thanks for the snacks!" Cornelia said urgently as she immediately stood up, ready to run off.

"I just remembered! I left some material boiling at home!" Edgar started

"Ah-Ah-Ah-Ah!" Yan Lin reprimanded, holding up a finger as Cornelia and Edgar sat back down obediently.

The old woman then opened the box and pulled out a glowing pink jewel on a string necklace.

"Whoa, sick jewelry!" Karma noted.

"This is the Heart of Kandrakar, which contains the elementary forces of nature." Yan Lin showed the crystal as the teens looked in awe. Though it was small, they could tell there was something very special about it. "In the last few days, you five girls have all had unusual experiences, am I right?"

"Not counting this one?" Irma muttered to herself.

"Come to think of it, Taranee did somehow relight the candles when we celebrated her birthday a few days ago..." Edgar noted. "At first, I thought they were faulty trick candles..."

"And then there was Cornelia's plant at the Science Fair today, as well as the water from the drinking fountain that hit Uriah in the face..." Nagare added.

Yan Lin nodded. "All five of you are starting to notice extraordinary abilities. Irma, as Nagare noticed, you will have noticed any water near you behaving strangely."

Irma looked at it almost skeptically as she took the straw and started to stir the water, but as she pulled the straw out, she pulled out some of the water, which hovered over the glass for a bit. That caught everyone by surprise as they stared in fascination.

"Irma's a waterbender confirmed!" Karma gaped as the water fell back into the glass.

"Okay… alrighty…" Irma awkwardly muttered.

"Taranee, I believe you have always been afraid of fire." Yan Lin told the bespectacled girl. "But focus now on the candle."

Taranee nervously pointed her finger toward the candle near her, but as she twitched, she shot a small flame from her finger that missed the candle and hit a banana instead. Edgar immediately took his glass of water and poured it on the banana, dousing the flame instantly.

Yan Lin held a Chinese Lantern in her hand as she turned to her granddaughter next.

"My little Hay Lin, this morning you noticed your power over Air."

Hay Lin instinctively exhaled and sent a small gust of wind to inflate the lantern. Fraost silently clapped his hands, followed by Nagare, Karma, Edgar, and Apollo.

"To you, Cornelia, is gifted the power of Earth." Yan Lin said as she handed the blonde girl a small potted plant.

Cornelia shakily held her hand over the pot as the small plant quickly grew into a blooming flower, causing her to look in amazement until the plant broke out of the pot and spread some of its roots across the table.

"All five of you will get better with your powers." Yan Lin began before frowning. "I hope..."

"Um… did you say five?" Hay Lin asked as everyone looked at the only girl who didn't seem to display any kind of power.

"Um...hate to disappoint you, but I can't even do that trick where it looks like your thumb comes apart." Will nervously said. "But if I ever have a party, you guys are definitely the entertainment."

"I like to think Karma is the whole goddamn circus," Apollo muttered, but his friend simply took it in stride with a proud puff of his chest.

"Well, he IS the most recommended babysitter in town," Nagare noted, getting a nod of thanks from his twin.

"One of the five binds the others, and with the Heart of Kandrakar, unites them, summoning and magnifying their powers." Yan Lin said, putting a hand on Will's shoulder.

The crystal in question lifted itself from Yan Lin's hand and hovered over the table, as almost everyone looked at it in further amazement, until it floated its way toward Will, almost as if the Heart was choosing her.

"Uh… recap…" Taranee stood up. "We gotta protect the world from evil by repairing holes in some kind of veil?"

"This doesn't involve sewing, does it?" Cornelia asked.

"This is so cool!" Irma said, her shock giving way to excitement. "When can we start?!"

"You already have." Yan Lin answered.

"Wait...if you're telling the girls this...why tell us as well, Grandma?" Fraost asked.

"Because...you boys are to be the Guardians' Knights." Yan Lin explained.

"Wait...so we're becoming Guardians TO the Guardians?" Nagare asked.

"Not necessarily," Apollo noted. "Knights were guardians, yes, but they often were also confidantes and aides…who just so happened to be masters of combat."

"I hate fighting." Fraost pointed out, then looked to Yan Lin. "Grandma, could you finish your story?"

The elderly woman smiled and cleared her throat.

"As Apollo said, the Knights stood by the Guardian's side, offering comfort, stability, and yes, sometimes defense. But while the Guardians took the elements to fuel their might, most of the Knights used other magic: First, there was the Armorer, whose skill crafted many weapons and defenses. Then the Alchemist, blending magic and nature. Then the Spirit, whose brilliance and open mind found solutions were saw most problems. After that was the Beast, one who was in tune with all creatures, great and small. And finally, the Elementalist, whose power enabled the Guardians to reach brand new heights

As she said those words, each of the boys seemed to glow as they noticed something on their palms, each one a symbol corresponding to each of the archetypes mentioned.

Nagare's symbol was what looked like a mixture of a sun and a moon, representing the Elementalist.

Karma had a sword and an axe crossed together over a suit of armor, representing the Armorer.

Edgar had an alchemical rune circle, representing the Alchemist.

Apollo had a snarling beast head, representing the Beast.

Finally, Fraost had an open eye over a palm, representing the Spirit.

"Will, Irma, Taranee, Cornelia, Hay Lin." Yan Lin said to the girls, letting the boys enjoy their artifact. "You have been chosen as the new Guardians of the Veil."

"And us?" Nagare asked.

"Nagare, Karma, Edgar, Apollo, Fraost...you are their Knights, the ones who will stand beside them through all the trials and darkness that they face."

Everyone was silent for what felt like forever before Nagare broke the ice.

"So, lemme see if we understand this right... Magic is real."

Yan Lin nodded. "Mhm."

"The girls in our lives have been chosen to protect it." Fraost continued as he and Hay Lin looked at each other.

"That's right."

"But something or someone else has messed with the usual way this works and now WE'RE getting magic too?" Apollo continued.

"In a manner of speaking, yes."

"Will this help us in school?" Karma asked.

Yan Lin shrugged. "Eh, you'll probably learn life lessons and grow along the way, but no, I don't think it will."

There was a pregnant silence between all the teens before Karma and Irma grinned at each other.

"Hey, I'm game!" Karma beamed.

"No way I'm turning this down!" Apollo added, Fraost nodding in agreement.

"Well, someone's got to keep you two in check. Edgar?" Nagare mused.

The intellectual boy had been quiet, racking his brain over this.

"M-Magic? No, no. That can't be it. The multiverse and other worlds, yes, that makes sense. But destiny is pure superstition and magic…MAGIC?! The very art of deception and science of cowards?! I, an ingenious mind of my generation…!"

"Hey, um…just a thought?" Will meekly cut in. "Maybe, just maybe, you could do all this to observe?"

Edgar looked at the redhead as if she were speaking a foreign language.

"If that was your attempt at appealing to make this whole ridiculous charade an experiment….You succeeded. Just promise me this wouldn't be as girly or simple as Winx, Barbie, or Sailor Moon!"

"What's a Winx?" Fraost asked.

"Don't ask." The girls and Apollo all responded, deadpan looks on their faces.

In his throne room in Meridian, Phobos cast a spell that produced a white powdery substance that created a vision showing Will and Nagare together before narrowing his eyes.

"Interesting..."

"The New Guardians and Knights have been chosen, haven't they?" A dark, suave voice spoke up as Phobos closed his eyes.

"Indeed, Master. Your enemies' descendants have been chosen as the new Knights."

"After all these centuries, they continue to haunt me!" The mysterious voice of Phobos' Master snarled. "Left behind to rot despite everything I did for them!"

Phobos sighed. "Master, you will have your revenge in due time. You will not only regain your lost power, but you will finally achieve that which was unjustly taken from you as well."

"I hope so, 'Prince' Phobos." The voice sneered, saying 'Prince' in a mocking tone. "Don't forget it was I who helped you claim the throne when your parents died! Don't forget I was the one who helped clear your name when everyone accused you of being the killer!"

"And I am grateful for your aid," Phobos said. "Though in return for your generosity, you inscribed me as your apprentice in the dark arts."

"And you have taken to my teachings quite well, my boy. Still, something will need to be done about those Guardians and their little boyfriends."

"We will see how this plays out first, Master."

A pair of red glowing eyes narrowed in the shadows near Phobos, a wide grin stretched in the darkness, revealing razor-sharp jagged teeth that soon belted out a sadistic cackle of excitement...

Meanwhile, on the outskirts, Caleb and Aldarn had managed not only to lose the small army previously chasing them but had even gained some significant distance as they dismounted their steeds.

"Thanks for the ride. How much do I owe you?" Caleb jokingly asked the ostrich-like creature before it and the one Aldarn was riding collapsed on the ground to get some sleep.

"Uh… the Infinite City is still an hour's walk, Caleb," Aldarn said as they looked toward their destination across a large and empty field.

"For you. I'm not going." Caleb said, much to Aldarn's surprise.

"What?"

"I heard something from my informant," Caleb explained. "Phobos has discovered the rightful heir to the throne is alive, on Earth."

"Earth?"

"I need to find a portal. If we don't locate the missing heir before Phobos does, Meridian and Earth are both doomed." He placed his hands firmly on his friends' shoulders, who did the same. "Tell the men to stay strong, and the women not to worry. I hope to see you soon, Aldarn."

With that farewell, both friends went their separate ways as Aldarn ran toward the Infinite City while Caleb ran back in the direction they came.

Caleb climbed his way up a rocky hillside. However, once he reached the top, he looked in shock as he came face-to-face with Phobos's serpent right-hand man, Lord Cedric.

"How can something so small be so troublesome?" Cedric said with a hiss. Before Caleb could even react, Cedric slammed his massive tail at Caleb to send him rolling and tumbling down the hillside as the large serpent-man gave pursuit.

"Yes! A perfect place to practice our powers!"

The ten teens had decided to hang out underneath Heatherfield's main bridge. It seemed like a good spot for them to practice their newfound powers, and no one else was around, so they wouldn't risk exposing any secrets as well.

"You know, I still don't believe any of this stuff," Cornelia said skeptically as she turned to Hay Lin. "No offense to your Grandma or anything, but she's like completely deluded. Probably not enough Vitamin D."

She was instantly regretting saying that and buckling under the glare of the largest boy in their group.

"Yan Lin is wiser than us all." Fraost sternly said. "I won't have anyone disrespecting her."

"Fraost." Hay Lin glared, getting in between him and Cornelia. Fraost's glare diminished, and he let out a sigh before turning to join his friends.

"Besides, what about the flower that grew when you just LOOKED at it?" Taranee pointed out. "And the water in Irma's glass? And that picture Mrs. Lin drew in the air?"

"Magic tricks. Ten bucks on the Internet." Cornelia said dismissively.

Will put the Heart of Kandrakar around her neck and closed her eyes, trying to figure out how to make it work. Suddenly, the Heart seemed to glow brightly and float itself up to her face, making everyone let out awes of interest.

Suddenly, Will and the girls floated into the air, Will turning around slowly in the center as the girls ended up spinning around her, Irma letting out a cry of alarm. The boys all took a step back, watching in amazement as pink ripples of energy emitted from the Heart.

"GUARDIANS UNITE!"

Will didn't know why she said that, but it was almost like instinct to her for some reason as the pink energy swirled around her and encased her in a sphere of pink energy.

Four other streams of elemental magic suddenly flowed out to the other girls surrounding her. A white stream of energy shaped like the wind encircled Hay Lin before her body was engulfed in a white magic sphere. A stream of magic fire flowed around Taranee before she was also engulfed in an orange magic sphere. Energized magic water flowed around Irma before her body was entrapped in a bright blue magic sphere. Finally, Cornelia was surrounded by a stream of green energy, which had leaves flowing around it, before her body was encompassed in a green energy sphere.

The five colored spheres hovered in the air as ancient elemental magic symbols formed on the spheres, while the boys looked in awe but had to quickly cover their eyes from a bright flash of light.

When the light subsided, the five Guardians stood fully transformed. Each of them had similar outfits, but also different in a way.

Will had a pink long-sleeved shirt with loose sleeves, a green skirt, blue and green striped tights, and dark purple boots.

Taranee had a pink sleeveless shirt, exposing her midriff with pink wristbands; dark green shorts with blue and green striped tights, and dark purple tennis shoes.

Irma had a dark green long-sleeved shirt with an exposed midriff, a purple skirt, blue and green striped tights, along with purple boots.

Hay Lin wore a dark green sleeveless shirt, with an exposed midriff, along with a purple dress and blue and green striped tights with purple shoes.

Finally, Cornelia had a dark green long-sleeved shirt as well, with a long purple dress stretching down to her heels, green and blue tights, and dark purple boots. But what really stood out were the butterfly-like wings that grew out of each of the girls' backs.

"Whoa..." Nagare managed; Will was already cute, but now? She looked beautiful.

Fraost blushed and turned his head to hide it, fighting the urge to stare at Hay Lin.

"The light was a bit overkill, but the sights are worth it, and now realizing how creepy that sounds, and I can't stop talking, somebody punch me before I say anything weirder than I already have…" Apollo said, his wish being granted by Nagare. "Thank you!"

"AWOOGA!" Karma thought inwardly, drinking in the sight.

Apollo forced his friend's hanging jaw up before he turned to Edgar.

"Can your science explain that?"

Edgar, who was flabbergasted as he tried to think of some way to explain what he'd just seen, finally responded after a few seconds:

"Like Cornelia said, smoke and mirrors! Or nanomachines activated by sound!"

The rest of the boys looked at Edgar like he was a moron

"What? It's feasible!"

"Holy cow..." Will whispered in shock.

"You know, somehow I cannot imagine your Grandma wearing that," Irma said to Hay Lin, who looked at her wings in excitement.

"What have we got behind us?"

"What have we got in front of us?" Cornelia looked at her chest and how much it had grown with a shallow laugh.

"I think I just got something in front of me..." Karma snickered before being elbowed in the gut by Apollo.

Hay Lin gasped. "They're wings! We've got wings!"

"They can't be wings. If they were wings, when we went like this we'd…" Will then gave a startled scream as her wings flapped rapidly and she actually took to the sky. Hay Lin followed suit and shot straight into the air.

"Oh man, I hate heights." Taranee groaned as she saw this. "I get woozy in high-heeled shoes."

"Alright, I guess it's time for us to do our thing," Nagare said.

"What do we even say? Yan Lin didn't give us an artifact. She just said the titles, and we got glowing symbols on our hands." Apollo said.

"Maybe we need a code phrase for it?" Edgar suggested.

"Knights, Rise!" Karma beamed.

As if that was the trigger, the boys' symbols glowed brightly on their palms, Nagare nodding.

"Guess we have a winner...KNIGHTS, RISE!"

From Nagare shot out four beams of energy that hit each of his friends while he was surrounded by his own field of energy. In a flash of light, they had changed, wearing form-fitting clothes that looked like ninja armor while also wearing masks that concealed their faces, save for their eyes.

"Oh, heck yeah!" Apollo cheered as he looked himself over.

"Kinda like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles meets Naruto. I can work with this." Nagare noted.

The girls were all staring at the boys' transformed states, all of them blushing at how well-muscled the boys were, and their physiques easily showing through their outfits.

"Ooooh, I feel faint...!" Irma swooned as she fell back, only for Karma to rush over and catch her at speeds he didn't even realize he had.

"Just…dropping down?" Karma grinned playfully under his mask, his voice smooth.

An awkward silence filled the air before both Karma and Irma's faces burst into blushes, and they leapt away, dusting themselves off sheepishly.

Hay Lin, the only girl who hadn't noticed the boys' transformation, was too busy flying around in every way.

"Oh, does anyone have a camera, or one of those cell phones or-!" She was interrupted when she crashed straight into Fraost, who quickly flew backward and skidded across the ground as he held Hay Lin close.

"Hay Lin, are you alright?!"

"Yeah, I'm-" Hay Lin paused when she saw Fraost's transformed state and blushed at just how good he looked in that armor, yet still was able to gaze into his bright purple eyes.

"This totally rocks!" Irma flapped her wings excitedly before pointing at Taranee. "You do something!"

Taranee tried to point her finger again, like in the restaurant, only to shoot a stronger flame that knocked her on her butt as the fire shot upward and fell back down to create a small blaze on the ground that Cornelia jumped out of the way from.

"See? That's exactly why I don't like fire!"

"Irma, you're Water, put it out!" Cornelia snapped, the other girl thrusting her hands out and firing a glob of water that spiraled in the air before splashing on the fire...and Cornelia.

"Alright, that's Taranee and Irma taken care of...now it's your turn," Edgar said as he turned to Cornelia.

"There's no soil or plants here, I can't do my thing." The blonde huffed. "Like, you know, rise toward me or whatever."

"Cornelia, Earth means ground, and what are you standing on?" Apollo asked rhetorically, hoping his friend would get it.

However, the ground suddenly rumbled before a large cactus-like plant shot out from underneath Cornelia, knocking her on her butt. She then noticed an earthworm squirming out of the ground and onto her hand, resulting in her screaming and running away, only for the struggling Will to fall and land on top of her.

"I could watch that all day," Karma smirked behind his mask, only to get elbowed by Apollo.

"Well, the girls are certainly taking to it. Now we need to figure out what we can do." Nagare noted.

"Perhaps we can try flying like the girls?" Fraost suggested before closing his eyes and concentrating. Suddenly, wings burst out of his back.

"Whoa!" Apollo gasped before trying the same thing, getting a similar result.

The other boys had different wings, no doubt to fit with each of their archetypes; Nagare had wings made of fire and ice, Karma had metal wings with blade-like feathers, Edgar had organic-looking wings with rune symbols etched on them, Apollo had dragon-like wings, and Fraost had glowing angelic wings.

Karma excitedly took flight with his wings, flying around before crashing headfirst into Hay Lin, who had resumed flying around earlier. The two then fell and crashed into a nearby garbage pile as the others winced.

Will had taken to trying and fly again but was still rather disoriented. Suddenly, she lost her balance and began falling, which Nagare noticed as he ran to catch her...but moved at blurring speeds faster than any normal human eye could track, appearing at Will's side and catching her in a bridal carry.

"Whoa...We're super fast too! Like The Flash!" Apollo grinned. "Now let's see if we have strength too!"

Apollo then dug his hands into the ground and grunted before yelling with full might as he pulled up a giant chunk of the ground the size of a pick-up truck...which he was holding as if it was as light as a party balloon.

"I AM THE STRONGEST IN THE WORLD!" Apollo roared.

"I guess that answers your question," Edgar said before putting a finger to his chin. "But what about our Archetype powers? Surely we can use them as well."

Nagare gently put Will down and began to focus as he held his hands together before creating an orb of fire, which then changed to water, then lightning, then air before dissipating.

"Okay, good start..."

"Not bad, bro!" Karma said before focusing and holding his hands out. "Come on, gimme weapons!"

Suddenly, a bright glow emitted from Karma's hands as he instinctively grabbed it, the glow becoming a trident. He then waved it around as it transformed into a chain flail, then an axe, a crossbow, and a staff.

"Awesome sauce!"

"If my studies on alchemy in mythology are correct..." Edgar muttered before touching some of the grass, which suddenly grew out before blooming into flowers. "Interesting..."

Apollo closed his eyes as he tried to focus on the beast within, suddenly letting out a primal-sounding growl before his arms bulked up and became covered in fur, becoming like those of a werewolf as he clenched his claws and grinned.

"Oh yeah, baby!"

Finally, Fraost took a deep breath and took a meditative stance. A translucent aura suddenly emitted from him as he could suddenly sense the spiritual energy all around him...and he could also hear his friends' thoughts.

"So it's like a mixture of spirit medium powers and psychic powers...good to know..."

"It's getting late. I think we've destroyed enough of Heatherfield for today." Will said as she saw the sun setting.

She took out the Heart again and was quick to transform everyone back. The boys all glowed and turned back to normal as well.

"Where did Hay Lin go?" Irma asked.

Fraost happened to look up at the sound of a girl screaming and opened up his arms to catch the falling Hay Lin bridal style.

"Found her."

"PUT ME DOWN, YOU OVERGROWN MUSCLEHEAD!"

"No."

Will leaned down to Nagare, whispering a question:

"So, stop me if I'm embroiling in private stuff, but are they…?"

"It's complicated." Her friend sighed.

Meanwhile, back in Meridian...

Caleb continued to tumble down the hillside with Cedric chasing after him. But Caleb was quick to get himself back on his feet and use the momentum to push himself to run farther and gain some distance from Cedric. He happened to spot a blue swirling portal just at the bottom of the hill and smiled as he made his way toward it, but Cedric was hot on his trail...

The kids had packed up and made some notes on what they could do, when Hay Lin noticed something...

"Um, guys..."

"Come on, Hay Lin. We can learn more about what we can do tomorrow." Irma said.

"I really think you outta check this out."

"Check what out?" Cornelia asked before noticing the bright blue glow behind the group, causing them all to turn around and see a portal had manifested just like the one in Yan Lin's images.

"Holy crap, it's one of those portals!" Karma exclaimed before Nagare pulled him back.

"Don't touch it, stupid!"

Suddenly, Caleb fell out of the portal in a crackle of electricity, crashing into some nearby garbage. However, he wasn't the only one coming out of it.

"Look!" Irma shouted as the form of Lord Cedric came out of the portal halfway.

"SNAKE MAN!" Apollo cried. "WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE A SNAKE MAN?!"

"Everyone, stand back!" Nagare said as he and the rest of the boys got in front of the girls protectively.

Cedric loomed over everyone with a snarl before turning toward where Caleb had landed and going to pick him up. However, Nagare jumped up and punched the brute in the jaw with an uppercut.

"SHORYUKEN!"

Cedric was disoriented briefly before shaking his head and glaring angrily at Nagare, only for Edgar to point his finger and fire a small bolt of electricity at him, which didn't hurt him, but it did surprise him.

"Did I just transmute the air into lightning?!" The bespectacled boy asked himself in surprise.

"Will! The necklace! Change us back!" Taranee shook Will, who seemed paralyzed with fear.

"Hey, tall, dark, and slimey! Why don't you pick on someone your own size?!" Apollo said as he leaped forward and grew a crocodile tail, which he used to try and smack Cedric, who batted him away.

Karma wanted to get a hit in as he tried to run and jump to deliver a kick to Cedric, but he saw it coming and grabbed Karma by the foot before throwing him at Edgar to knock them both down.

Nagare tried to hit Cedric again, but the snake-man blocked the attack with his large arm before throwing him out towards Fraost to knock him back a bit. Cedric used this opportunity to grab Caleb, who had just finished pulling himself out of the trash.

Will tried to shake off her fear just as the boys each recovered, and Cedric grabbed Caleb. She quickly activated the Heart's power, and Cedric looked in surprise to see the girls transform into their Guardian forms.

"Uh…Fire!" Will exclaimed.

"Me?" Taranee questioned, considering it was her element.

"Everybody!" Will shouted. All five of them looked like they were about to shoot off their magics, but it ended up causing chaos as their respective magics actually seemed to pour into the Heart of Kandrakar, causing pink lightning-like bolts to shoot everywhere.

"Girls, you're going all wrong! You're putting too much power into it!" Edgar cried.

"Hey! If the girls are transforming, why aren't we?!" Karma asked, but sadly went ignored in the commotion.

Deciding retreat was the best option, Cedric began to pull himself back through the portal along with the struggling Caleb.

"Close it! Close the portal!" Caleb exclaimed as he was about to be dragged through, but Nagare quickly ran toward him and grabbed his hand before trying to pull him back.

"I got you!"

Unfortunately, Nagare wasn't strong enough and was about to be pulled in along with Caleb.

"BRO!" Karma was quick to grab his brother and try to pull him back down, along with Caleb. Fraost grabbed Karma by the waist and tried to pull them out too, but it seemed Cedric was just as strong himself and pulled as hard as he could with Karma and Fraost trying to pull Nagare back with Nagare himself trying hard not to let go of Caleb.

"Will! Close it! Close it!" Hay Lin shouted out of fear as they stopped using their magic.

"But… the guys…!"

"Close it now!" Edgar exclaimed as he shot another weak lightning blast at Cedric through the portal, hitting the snake-man in the face to disorient him long enough for Karma and Fraost to pull Nagare out.

However, he ended up losing his grip over Caleb, and he fell back into the portal with Cedric just as Will shot a beam of pink energy from the Heart at the Portal to close it, but it was already too late.

"You lost him!" Cornelia exclaimed to Will. "That thing got him!"

"Not even our first day on the job and we just lost..." Apollo weakly said

"I see…what exactly did you see?" Yan Lin asked as the ten shaken teens returned to the Silver Dragon to tell her what happened.

"He was pretty tall. Not as tall as Fraost, but pretty tall." Edgar described. "And he had brown hair and a jacket."

"He was just a boy, the same age as the rest of us." Will sighed. "It all happened so fast."

"Don't blame yourselves." Yan Lin gently assured her.

"I don't. I blame her!" Cornelia pointed to Will. "She totally blew it!"

"Oy, I didn't see you trying to help!" Apollo said, elbowing Cornelia in the stomach. "So take it easy, why don't ya!"

"Guys!" Taranee snapped, slamming her hands on the table.

"I'm just wondering who the heck that big snake guy was..." Nagare frowned.

"It looked like this." Hay Lin said as she showed Yan Lin a sketch of the snake man in question, causing her to frown as she recognized him.

"Lord Cedric..."

"Lord?" Irma questioned. "They got pretty low standards for knighthood over there."

"I shudder to think what the Archduke is like," Edgar muttered.

"Cedric is not always in this form." Yan Lin explained.

"Well, that's good news for his wife." Fraost dryly noted, causing Irma to snort in amusement.

"Guys, this is serious!" Hay Lin said.

"Hey, you think we don't know that?" Nagare said defensively. "We literally saw a giant snake man drag a guy who was trying to escape to who knows where to do who knows what to him!"

"Don't fight." Yan Lin gently said. "You only have each other. And you've begun an adventure which I'm afraid you will need all of your talents and strengths just to survive."

"Yeah, no pressure..." Karma grumbled.

Chapter Text

Prince Phobos sat on his throne as Lord Cedric approached him. The shadowy figure that Phobos referred to as his 'Master' slithered by the throne and away from too many prying eyes that might be watching.

"Report."

"We have the rebel leader," Cedric said as he turned back to normal. "But I was ambushed at the portal by the Guardians and their Knights."

"The Guardians are old women at this point, Cedric." Phobos pointed out. "And the Knights are dead."

"Oh, not so, my prince." Cedric replied. "They are now young girls and boys."

"A new generation?!" Snarled Phobos' Master in fury, razor-sharp teeth baring themselves from the shadowy mist. "So my enemies' legacy DOES live on!"

"And that also means the crystal has passed to a new generation." Phobos realized. "This could complicate the search for my sister. Finding her is essential if I am to maintain my power over Meridian."

The three villains turned to see Caleb being dragged in chains into the throne room by a large, blue-hulking individual who bowed once he sat down near the throne, followed by a pair of guards.

"The trouble-maker Prince Phobos."

"Thank you, Vathek." The Prince turned his attention to Caleb, who glared at him. "You seem rather young to be leading a rebellion, far too young for you to waste your life on such a meaningless pursuit. However, that need not be the case. I am willing to overlook your transgressions, and all you need to do is reveal to me the names of your fellow traitors in the rebellion. Do this, and I shall grant you a full pardon. So, what do you say? I'm making you a rather generous offer."

"You'll learn nothing from me!" Caleb snapped. "So take your so-called pardon and blow it out of your robes!"

Phobos' Master suddenly lunged forward, forming a pair of long, gangly arms from his shadowy mass with boney-clawed fingers, and grabbed Caleb by the neck, pulling him close so he could look straight into his merciless blood-red eyes.

"You best not bear your teeth, DOG! 'Least you be kicked!"

The Master then slammed Caleb hard into a pillar, his arm stretching longer than normal to do so. Caleb grunted in pain as he slid down against the pillar, as the Master retreated back into the shadows.

"Escort him to the oubliette; perhaps the despair will soften him up," Phobos ordered.

As per Phobos' command, Vathek and the guards dragged Caleb out of the throne room.

At Sheffield Institute, our ten young teens with attitude were eating lunch in the quad outside, talking about what they saw yesterday as well.

"That poor boy. I wonder who he was." Will said.

"Well, he's probably dead now." Karma shrugged before feeling a sharp pain at the back of his head. "OW!"

"Karma, show some damn tact!" Nagare snapped at his twin brother.

"I wonder what that thing did to him." Hay Lin worriedly said.

"It's what it could have done to us that worries me," Taranee stated. "I mean, that's what we're supposed to fight with our so-called powers?"

"I'm sorry, but I'm far too pretty to end up as snake poop." Cornelia pointed out.

"Do snakes even poop?" Apollo questioned. "I mean, the food they eat has got to go somewhere, right?"

"Snakes excrete their digested food in a mixture of feces and urine that is similar in consistency to bird poop. So yes, in a way, snakes poop." Edgar said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"So they poop and pee at the same time?" Karma asked before chuckling. "Gnarly as hell."

This caused everyone else to laugh, with even the normally stoic Fraost cracking a smile.

"Anyways, I heard it's Class Picture Day tomorrow," Will said as everyone headed towards their next class. "Do you guys get dressed up?"

"I mostly just tidy up my hair and that's it," Nagare said. "It's a pain to get Karma to wear something more presentable that isn't Punk, Goth, or Freeloading."

"Hey, I resent that!" Karma pouted. "I'm a Drifter!"

"Again, what is the difference?" Nagare sighed.

"No difference, it's all in one, depending on my mood," Karma explained. "With punk, you're saying, 'don't mess with me' and 'I defy authority.' With goth, you show you appreciate the dark and 'macabre.' And freeloading? Well, that's just your opinion."

"Huh. You almost sounded intelligent there." Edgar mused.

Caleb was still in chains as several guards were escorting him, Vathek included, underground toward the dungeon. But he wasn't about to make it easy for them. He shoved his elbow into the guard on his right and used the sudden surprise to slide underneath the guard holding his chains and shove up both his feet into the chest of the guard in front of him before jumping up and over the guard that he slid under, landing on his head to knock him down.

He dropped and rolled out of the way to avoid an axe slice from another guard, only to be jumped onto by a Lurden and later several others. Within minutes, Caleb had been detained and was shoved into a small cage that was being lowered down into a deep pit. Once he reached the bottom, the floor in the cage opened, and he fell onto the ground as the cage began to rise up.

"Let's see how eternity in the oubliette suits you, traitor," Vathek said to Caleb before slipping a key into a half-loaf of bread and dropping it into the pit before walking away with the rest of the guards.

Caleb reached for the bread, but a pair of slimy green hands also reached for it. Caleb pulled the wrists of the hands to toss the creature the hands belonged to, revealing a small, green-skinned, goblin-like creature.

"Blunk not steal! Trade!" The creature named Blunk pulled out a dead rat. "Rat for bread? Good deal, yes?"

"Blunk?" Caleb recognized the name. "You're that smuggler!"

"Businessman." Blunk corrected as he held the bread in his hands.

"I didn't fight for freedom this long to die in a hole with a talking pickle!" Caleb stated as he looked around at his new surroundings.

"Well, at least it's not just him..." A slithery voice spoke as Caleb turned to see a young man wearing green ninja-like robes with a black hood, a reptile tattoo over his left eye, and open-toed shoes.

"And who are you?"

"I go by many monikers, but the name I was born with is Syzoth." The man introduced himself. "Though others prefer to call me Reptile."

"And why do they call you that?" Caleb asked.

Reptile smirked, and suddenly his body shifted and rippled before changing into a tall, muscular reptilian humanoid with a strong crocodile-like tail, sharp teeth like a komodo dragon's, and a long whip-like chameleon tongue.

"You're a Zaterran!" Caleb gasped as Reptile let out a deep throaty chuckle before shifting back into human form.

"Yes, my people can shift between our natural beastly forms and more human-like appearances to better mingle amongst others." Reptile said.

"And what are you in for?" Caleb asked.

"Believe it or not, I am also a member of the Rebellion." Reptile explained. "I was captured weeks ago and have been here ever since, biding my time to find an opportune moment to escape."

"He stares at Blunk like food!" Blunk said, but went ignored as Caleb looked up the walls.

"Saw the new Guardians and their Knights. It looks like a long wait to get rescued. I'll have to get out of here myself."

"Same thing he said," Blunk said as he picked up a skull. "He mostly out of here, aren't you?"

"Death was the most merciful release that fool could have made." Reptile sighed, folding his arms.

As they conversed, Caleb tried to climb the wall.

"I've been in tougher places than this." The prince muttered, only to grimace at a whiff of the air. "Okay… not smellier places…"

"Too high. Never make it." Blunk said as he began to eat the bread.

"I can attest. I've tried climbing myself." Reptile added. "And he told me he's tried 3700 times already."

Blunk nodded, taking a bite of the bread as Caleb inevitably fell down. Suddenly, Blank gagged and spat something out in front of Caleb; it was the key Vathek had hidden inside.

"Well, you've released your cuffs, but we're still stuck down here." Reptile said. "What do you intend to do now?"

"One thing's for sure; I don't intend to be here for dinner," Caleb said firmly.

"Prince Phobos, we've located a portal," Cedric said as he and Vathek stood in front of Phobos.

"Use it to bring me THIS girl." The evil ruler said as he cast a spell, releasing white sand-like dust that swirled around until it formed a vision of none other than Will. "She is the one who bears the Heart of Kandrakar. Find her and bring her to me."

Back on Earth, School was over as the gang of ten walked along the sidewalk of the streets. Hay Lin seemed more chipper than usual.

"So, when do we go? Tonight?"

"Whoa, slow down, Tinker Bell," Cornelia told her. "Maybe we can rescue this rebel leader AFTER Picture Day, right?"

"Call me a wimp, but in the school yearbook, I'd still like to have a face." Taranee chimed in.

"I'd honestly like to have a functioning lower body still..." Edgar mumbled.

"Forget Picture Day," Irma stated. "I don't care what I look like. I care about who I am. Let's go kick some Meridian butt!"

"Yeah! I'm all for kicking butts!" Karma cheered.

"I wanna go, but I don't know how much help we're gonna be by soaking him and covering him with garbage," Will said. "Let's practice again tomorrow. Taranee, don't you normally go this way?"

"My dad's cooking tonight, I'm going to Irma's place," Taranee said.

"Ditto for me. Taranee's Dad is a good man...but cooking is not one of his strong suits." Edgar sighed. "We'll all see each other tomorrow."

Everyone headed off to leave as Will watched them go, a tinge of sadness aching in her heart. A part of her wanted to go with them, but it still felt a little awkward. Despite sharing the same experience as yesterday, she still felt a bit of an outsider. So, with a sigh, she decided to head down an alleyway to take a shortcut.

Unbeknownst to her, Nagare had stopped and watched her leave the other way with a worried expression.

"Yo bro, what's up?" Karma asked, spying his brother, stopped in his steps, and being concerned,

"Nothing..." Nagare replied. "….Karma, you go on ahead, I'll catch up."

Without waiting for his brother's response, he then backtracked to where Will was going.

"Hey, Will!"

The red-haired girl heard her name being called and was about to turn around when, suddenly, a pair of hands grabbed her with one clasping over her mouth to prevent her from screaming as she was pulled into the alleyway.

Nagare came just in time to see this happen, his eyes widening in horror as he ran to where she was taken and saw a portal with Will's backpack on the ground in front of it.

"WILL!"

Looking at the backpack, then at the portal, then behind himself, Nagare weighed all of his options before taking a deep breath and then jumping straight through the portal.

"THIS IS CRAZYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!"

"You hypocrites!"

It was the next day at school, and Irma, Taranee, and Hay Lin were gathered with Karma, Edgar, Apollo, and Fraost.

"What?" Irma asked.

"What do you mean 'What'?" Cornelia asked incredulously, having won the same outfit as her friend. "'I don't care what I look like, I care about who I am'!"

"Nah, she just wanted to try this style," Karma said while also subtly taking pictures of Irma with his phone, making her smirk playfully at him as she decided to indulge her friend.

"Why even bother with the school picture when we've got Karma as our personal paparazzi?" Edgar sarcastically commented.

"Come on, work with me, work with me! More pout, less pose!" Karma said as he took as many pictures of Irma as he could. "That's so great, inside of you is a fashion model just waiting to throw up!"

"Say, Karma, where is Nagare anyway?" Fraost asked, the others filling with worry when the more exuberant twin tensed, eyes twitching before he recomposed himself.

"I don't know. He never came home last night." The normally more excitable twin confessed.

"Maybe he decided to hang out with Will, get to know her more…" Irma tried to assure him. "He is her guide after all."

"Maybe," Karma admitted, cheering up a bit. "Still, weird he didn't let me know…Ah well! More leftovers for me!"

"That would explain the after-smell of dumplings." Hay Lin noted before Taranee suddenly ran up with Will's backpack in her hand, breathing heavily.

"Taranee, what's up?" Apollo asked.

"It's Will's backpack, I found it lying on the sidewalk, the crystal's still in it!"

Dread filled the group.

"M-Maybe she just dropped it?" Hay Lin worriedly suggested.

"And didn't notice?! Get real! Her Science textbook alone must weigh 20 pounds!" Taranee pointed out as she took out the Heart of Kandrakar.

Phobos watched as Cedric, along with a pair of guards, entered the large chambers, along with the captive Will, with both her hands tied behind her back and a thick cloth tied over her mouth. She was dragged in and forced onto her knees just before the throne.

"The bearer of the Heart, Prince Phobos." Cedric presented with a hiss.

The bound and gagged Will looked up in fear towards Phobos. While he appeared to be a normal human, there was something very intimidating about him. Looking into his eyes was almost like looking into the dark, never-ending abyss.

"Please… please just let me go…" She shook with fear once her gag was lowered.

"I will, provided you give me the Heart of Kandrakar," Phobos told her. "Hand me the crystal, and I promise you will be returned home safely."

"But…I don't have it." Will stuttered as Phobos narrowed his eyes. "I swear… I don't have it! I don't know where it is!"

Phobos' Master suddenly appeared and snaked around Will menacingly, his red eyes glaring at her from all angles as shadowy wisps branched off to touch her in certain places, some of which made the poor girl very uncomfortable.

If she was unnerved by Phobos, this guy truly terrified the young girl. The Prince was intimidating but with some class to him. Whoever this guy was? Will felt like she was a soon-to-be murder victim being eyed by a serial killer, and that big, toothy grin, all razors, didn't help either.

"Unfortunately, dear prince, she speaks the truth. Perhaps she kept it hidden somewhere before she was taken."

"Well, then I guess she's free to go!"

This came from Nagare as he swung in from a vine and kicked Cedric square in the face to knock him down before noticing the two guards charging at him. Quickly, he ducked under their attempts to grab him and kicked one of them in the groin, making him wince and fall over his comrade, pinning him to the floor.

"Nagare?!" Will gasped. "How did you-?!"

"No time for that, let's get out of here!" The amber-eyed boy said as he took the redhead's hand and pulled her away to escape, only for Phobos' Master to manifest in front of them as a massive, shadowy wall with a single giant pulsating red eye glaring hatefully at them.

"You're not going to be escaping that way!"

A giant clawed hand shot out of the shadowy mass and slammed into Nagare, making him let go of Will as he was smashed into the steps of Phobos' throne. The Evil Prince stood up and looked down at Nagare as the young man met his gaze.

"Hello, handsome." He said sarcastically.

"I can sense your energy...you are one of the Knights."

"Yeah, and I like to think I'm more handsome than you, too."

Phobos scoffed as he telekinetically lifted Nagare and threw him across the ground.

"Take them both to the oubliette with the rebel leader," Phobos ordered. "I do not tolerate defiance."

The guards did as their prince requested as they picked up the downed Nagare along with Will and escorted them out of the chamber.

"Why didn't you let me kill that pathetic waste of flesh?!" Phobos' Master demanded, taking on a more humanoid shape as he approached his protege.

"Because it is too soon, Master. You'll have your revenge when ALL of the Knights are gathered. No doubt their friends will come looking for them soon enough."

"I hope so, boy..." The Master snarled as he slithered back into the shadows with a hiss. "For your sake, I hope so..."

He now regretted not telling his apprentice about the Knight he was MOST wary of…..

"We've got to go get her!"

"Yeah! And if she's there! Nagare has to be there too!" Karma said, already racing to the door.

"You're serious?! You want to skip school on PICTURE DAY?!" Cornelia asked incredulously.

"Screw picture day!" Karma snapped, shocking the group. "We have one every year and can redo it! I only have one brother!"

"Hello! Will and Nagare have been seized by the forces of evil!" Taranee called out.

"We don't know that! We don't even know where to find them!" Edgar said.

"We may not know... But I think our little friend here does." Fraost said, gesturing to the Heart of Kandrakar, which was being held by Hay Lin as it pointed forward as if trying to direct itself to its owner.

"Well, let's get this show on the road!" Apollo said.

The eight teens snuck out of school, using the Heart to guide them, eventually going underground into the sewers.

"You know, I think I liked it better when I couldn't see," Taranee said.

Irma coughed. "So this is where they store all the world's dust."

Soon, the group saw a portal right in front of them, clear as day.

"Will and Nag are on the other side of that?" Apollo nervously asked.

"This is crazy! Until she puts that on, we don't have any power!" Cornelia pointed out.

"Well, you were able to use the elements pretty well before you found out about them." Edgar sarcastically pointed out. "So as much as I still don't get this magic nonsense...I say we take the risk."

One by one, everyone went through the portal except for Cornelia and Apollo.

"Apollo, if I'm last, I'll just chicken out!"

"Well then, let's cut out the middle man!" Apollo said.

Cornelia let out a yelp as Apollo picked her up bridal style, despite the height difference between them, and leaped through as she shrieked in alarm.

"I'm gonna have to trust you," Caleb told Blunk.

"Trust Blunk. Yes!"

"Put your foot, or hoof, or whatever it is in here," Caleb said as he held the chains, which Blunk stepped on. "When I count to three, jump as high as you can. I'm gonna throw you out and…

"One… two…!"

"Listen!" Caleb exclaimed. "You're gonna find a rope and lower it."

"Rope. Yes. Good plan!"

"No, terrible plan." Caleb knew this was probably not going to work, but he was out of options. "But even if you betray me, at least it'll smell better down here."

Reptile snorted in amusement as Blunk frowned. Caleb then threw him into the air, the green gremlin screaming as he reached the top and quickly grabbed the ledge. However, he lost his grip and fell back down onto Caleb and bounced off him before landing on the floor.

"Guess we'll have to try that again." Reptile said.

Before they could, however, the three looked up once they heard the cage being lowered.

"That's right, Guardian of the Veil. Knight. You're going down there with the rebel leader." Vathek said as the cage was lowered down. The cage opened as both Will and Nagare fell out and landed on Caleb before the cage was pulled back up.

"Well, this isn't the worst-looking dungeon," Nagare said. "Much better than the one Karma planned out in our last D session..."

"Wait… you're that guy from yesterday!" Will said, recognizing Caleb.

"You're not one of the Guardians I saw. Where's your older sister?" Caleb asked and then noticed Nagare. "Well, at least I recognize one of the guys who tried to help me."

"Hey, think nothing of it," Nagare said, dusting himself off. "Besides, Will here is a full-fledged Guardian. She's just not in her Hero Costume yet."

"Wait, YOU'RE the rebel leader we're supposed to be saving?" Will questioned. "What are you rebelling against? Diaper rash?"

"Hey girly girl, I'm fifteen!"

"You're the same age as us?!" Nagare questioned. "You look like you're in your twenties for crying out loud! You must really pack your protein meals here."

Caleb shook his head. "Never mind that, just activate the crystal and fly us out of here."

"Uh…we don't exactly have it," Nagare said, causing Caleb to look in disbelief.

"What do you mean you don't have it?!"

"Hey, give me a break, will ya?!" Will exclaimed. "Just yesterday, I was a normal girl who found out I have some kind of magic powers. Now I've been kidnapped, dragged through a magic portal, tied up, interrogated by a psychopathic prince, almost molested by some creepy dark shadow creature, and dropped into the bottom of a hole! Not exactly used to this kind of stuff!"

Blunk walked over. "Why catch her, not catch Blunk?"

Will screamed as she jumped and clung to Nagare, who just looked confused.

"What the heck is that? Some kind of Gremlin?"

"Not Gremling, Passling!" Blunk stated. "Anything to trade?"

"Don't leave me out of this..." Reptile said as he walked over. "My name is Syzoth, but most prefer to address me as Reptile."

"He's also a member of the Rebellion and a Zaterran," Caleb said. "Though we never actually saw each other until now."

"This Rebellion is sounding very disorganized," Nagare noted, then looked at Will. "Say, as much as I enjoy a pretty girl clutching onto me like Scooby would Shaggy, could you…? Maybe…?"

"Oh! Right. Sorry." Will chuckled weakly as she got off of him.

Everyone had made it through the other side of the portal, Cornelia quickly curling up in Apollo's arms to avoid getting any mud on her.

"Wow! That really wakes up your underwear!" Irma laughed.

"Odd choice of words..." Apollo noted.

"So this must be Meridian..." Fraost noted as everyone gauged their surroundings.

"Sheesh! Bloodborne had a cheerier atmosphere than this!" Karma said.

The Heart of Kandrakar quickly guided the group to where they needed to go.

"Cornelia, don't look down." Hay Lin said.

"That's for heights, nitwit."

Hay Lin smirked. "I know, but if you see your reflection, you'll, like, totally freak!"

The group soon found where the castle was; they were right at the edge of the moat surrounding the dark fortress. Hay Lin looked into the water and saw something moving.

"Hey, look, fishies!"

This proved to be incorrect as a massive serpent-like monster came out of it. Hay Lin screamed as it was about to bite down on her, but Fraost suddenly rushed in front of it and held its jaws open with surprising strength, even for him.

"Weapon! Weapon! I need a weapon!" Edgar cried.

Karma grabbed a stick and threw it to Edgar, who initially gave his friend an annoyed look before blue alchemical energy emitted from his hand and transmuted the stick into a javelin.

"Huh, guess that works."

Acting quickly, Edgar threw his transmuted weapon at the serpent's neck, making it shriek in agony as it backed away from Fraost and retreated back into the water.

"My hero." Hay Lin said, hugging Fraost.

"Got that from Fullmetal Alchemist, didn't ya?" Irma quipped to Edgar.

"What is that?"

"Oh my god, he doesn't know... We are so having an anime marathon after this." Karma said.

"Swimming is out of the question," Apollo stated.

"Then how are we gonna get across?" Taranee asked.

"Well, I sort of have an idea," Cornelia said as the others looked in surprise. "Oh, don't look so surprised."

Cornelia climbed on top of a large thorny root and outstretched her hand to concentrate her powers. She was able to pull a vine from a small outpost near the bottom of the castle. She smiled at what she accomplished as everyone else seemed impressed.

"Oh dang!" Taranee cheered.

"Me first!" Hay Lin excitedly said.

"Hold on, all of us together will be too heavy." Edgar pointed out. "I suggest we take turns swinging across."

Fraost grabbed onto the vine first as Hay Lin clung to his back. He took a running start before jumping and swinging. When he reached the outpost, he grabbed the ledge with his right hand and pulled himself along with Hay Lin.

"Your turn, guys!" Hay Lin said as she passed the rope to Irma, who took it with Karma.

"I always wanted to do this!" Karma grinned as Irma hung on to him and they both jumped across, Karma letting out a Tarzan cry as he swung.

Edgar, Apollo, Taranee, and Cornelia went together last, the four of them swinging from the ledge and toward the outpost. Though they made it, Cornelia, being at the bottom, accidentally landed face-first into the brick wall.

Edgar and Taranee were already up, and Apollo helped Cornelia get up as well. However, right as the group walked into the castle, they failed to notice something was watching them. A massive cyclops that appeared to be made entirely out of rock looked down from the wall he was embedded in and saw them enter.

Phobos saw what the cyclops was seeing through the dark shadows his master was composed of. He then stood up and turned to Cedric.

"The Heart of Kandrakar, it's here. Along with the other Guardians and Knights."

"Cedric, you know what to do."

Cedric hissed as he transformed into his Serpent Form.

"It's lunchtime!"

The eight teens walked through the castle, letting the Heart of Kandrakar continue to guide them. Soon, they exited the tunnels and entered the dungeons, where the Heart quickly pulled Hay Lin along to one of the pits.

"Will?" Taranee called down.

"Nagare?" Karma called as well.

"Hay Lin! We're down here!" Will called with a wide grin.

"I never thought I'd be so happy to hear my brother's voice!" Nagare beamed.

"Catch!"

Hay Lin released the crystal as it flew down into the pit and straight to Will. Nagare smirked as he knew what was going to happen next, turning to Caleb, Reptile, and Blunk.

"Watch this, you're going to love it."

"GUARDIANS UNITE!"

Will was enveloped in a pink flash of light that shone straight upward to envelop the other girls as all five of them had transformed into their Guardian forms. Nagare then saw his palm glowing and knew what needed to be done as he shouted next.

"KNIGHTS, RISE!"

In a flash of light, the boys were all once more in their knight attire.

"Oh yeah! This is happening!" Karma cheered, striking a pose.

"Grab on!" Will told Reptile and Caleb as they both held onto her body. Using her wings as well as her enhanced strength, she took flight with both of them, along with Blunk, who leaped onto her and caught her legs.

Nagare just crouched down and sprouted his own wings, taking flight after Will as they all flew out of the pit in no time at all.

You guys really came!" Will said, elated. "You really are my friends."

"Well, we couldn't leave a cute girl like you alone." Karma chuckled. "Besides, Nagare is my brother, and as much as I can't live with him, I just can't live without him either."

Nagare grumbled back his brother's words before smiling and hugging Karma.

"Speaking of which...WHY WOULD YOU GO AND FIGHT THE BIG BAD BY YOURSELF, YOU DOLT!" Edgar snapped at Nagare, who rolled his eyes.

"Please, that pretty boy couldn't even scare a newborn kitten." He then frowned behind his mask. "But that shadowy monster he was with...that's what really worries me."

"Who is this?" Apollo asked, referring to Caleb.

"The rebel leader, believe it or not," Nagare responded.

"You're the rebel leader?" Cornelia asked him before thinking internally."He's actually kinda cute."

Apollo looked between Cornelia and Caleb, seeing the eyes his blonde-haired friend was making, and frowned.

"I do not like where this is going."

"I am Syzoth, though you can call me Reptile." Reptile introduced as he picked up Blunk by the back of his collar. "And this...is Blunk."

Blunk shook free of Reptile's grip and turned to Hay Lin. "Take Blunk! Blunk knows tunnel! Secret way out!"

"Aww, he's kinda cute!" Hay Lin smiled.

"Yeah, for a Gremlin." Nagare snorted.

"Not Gremlin, Passling!" Blunk corrected.

"The day I trust a Passling is the day I die! You can't trust… OW!" Caleb's protests were cut off by Reptile delivering a dope slap to his head, turning his arm into its reptilian form.

"He is the only one with the way out. I say we trust him!"

"Well, if we're all in agreement, let us go," Edgar said. "Eh… Blunk was it? Lead the way."

"Yes, trust Blunk. Blunk lead you all out of castle."

Unfortunately, two dozen guards and Lurden soldiers poured into the dungeon via the stairs along the walls or descending on the chains from the ceiling.

"Why do I have the feeling these guys were expecting us?" Karma asked.

"We need to cover our escape!" Edgar said.

Apollo let out a roar as he transformed his arms into those of a gorilla and slammed his fists into the ground to create an earthquake, while Fraost waved his hands, conjuring spirit energy that he sent out as a powerful blast that blew the guards off their feet.

This allowed the group of thirteen to make their quick escape, Cornelia turning around briefly to slam the massive gates shut behind her with her powers and grow large, thick root vines from the ground to seal it shut.

"Nice job, darling," Apollo said, making the blonde blush.

"Tunnel, yes! Under moat!" Blunk moved a large piece of wood he used to hide the tunnel, only to find it blocked by bars. "Bars! NO!"

"Stand back!" Taranee said, snapping her fingers as a torch of flames protruded from them, which she used to burn through the bars.

"Ah, a clever use of your powers," Edgar said in approval.

Suddenly, a loud, furious roar echoed through the tunnels as everyone got on guard.

"I'll hold them off!" Caleb said as he prepared to run off, but was stopped by Nagare.

"Hold on there, Pedro! We're all escaping together!"

Caleb gave Nagare a reassuring smile. "Guarding the Veil is more important than one rebel fighter."

"Then in that case...Allow me to accompany you." Reptile said.

"Well...good luck, you two." Edgar sighed.

Taranee finished burning through the bars, allowing Irma to kick them off and grant the group passage through the tunnel, Blunk leading the way. Caleb and Reptile then ran out into the opening, goading Cedric to chase after them.

The group soon made their way out of the castle. They were about to make their escape, but Will stopped.

"I'm going back for Caleb and Syzoth!"

"Wait, I'm faster!" Apollo said. "Well, I don't know who's the fastest since we're all still new to this, but I'll rescue them!"

"I'll go too!" Hay Lin joined in.

"Just stay safe, you two..." Fraost said gently, getting a reassuring wink from Hay Lin and a thumbs-up from Apollo in response.

Back with Caleb and Reptile, the two were leading Cedric around until they came across a large open chasm with multiple cave entrances leading to them. Cedric was soon upon them and raised his tail to strike, only for a fireball to hit him in the face, making him screech as he covered it.

"We got ya!" Apollo said as he and Hay Lin grabbed Caleb and Reptile before flying them out while Cedric was still stunned.

Blunk continued to lead everyone else to the still-open portal, now being joined by Apollo and Hay Lin, still carrying Caleb and Reptile.

"There's the portal!" Nagare exclaimed.

"Hell yeah! We are home free, baby!" Karma shouted with joy.

However, right as he said that, a massive Cyclops monster appeared to be made out of stone with a mushroom cap head. Its left hand was bone-thin, while its right hand was massive. It had a large left leg with a skinny right leg.

"I know that creature, it is a guardian of Phobos!" Reptile exclaimed. "That is Gargoyle!"

"Doesn't even look anything like a Gargoyle. Looks more like an ugly inbred mushroom monster," Apollo noted.

The monster roared and tried to crush the heroes with its massive hand, making everyone quickly scatter. Reptile quickly turned into his Zaterran Form and formed a ball of acid, which he threw at Gargoyle, disorienting it briefly before it tried to lash out at him with its massive hand.

"Look out!" Fraost cried as he felt energy well up inside him.

In a burst of spiritual energy, Fraost teleported to Reptile's side and pushed him out of the way of Gargoyle's impending fist. Karma created a large zweihander and leaped high into the air, slashing the back of Gargoyle's hand as the beast turned and snarled, trying to swat him out of the sky.

"Keep your hands off my man!" Irma snapped. "WATER!"

The Water Guardian created a large water ball with her hands and threw it right at Gargoyle's eye, knocking it away from Karma. Hay Lin followed through with a gust of wind from her mouth before flying around Gargoyle to create a whirlwind, which actually began to blow back the large monster and knock it over onto the wet ground.

Cornelia was next as she pulled out a massive gathering of mud from the ground around Gargoyle and lifted it into the air before dropping it onto the behemoth with the snap of her fingers. Taranee delivered the finishing move, producing a flame and throwing it at the mud-covered Gargoyle, while telekinetically moving the hot flame around him to quickly heat and solidify the mud into thick rock to imprison the monster.

"I doubt that's gonna hold him for long! Let's beat it!" Nagare said.

"Wait, I feel something..." Edgar said.

Placing his hands in the water, Edgar felt around until he touched stone and grinned as he transmuted them into chains that lashed out and wrapped around the petrified Gargoyle, further restraining him.

"Like I said, we're definitely making you watch Fullmetal Alchemist after this!" Karma said. "Now everybody amscray!"

Everyone ran through the portal. As soon as they had made it across, Will took out the Heart and used it to close the portal behind them.

With the danger over, the ten teens with attitudes transformed back to normal, all of them looking quite shaken but at the same time excited.

"Can you believe what we just did…?!" Cornelia breathed, still feeling the adrenaline.

"Yes...We came, we saw, WE CONQUERED!" Edgar laughed, running on an absolute power high.

"That was so cool! Talk about teamwork!" Irma cheered.

Will laughed a bit as well, but noticed Cornelia's bruised face. "What happened to your face?"

"When we swam across the moat, Cornelia 'George-of-the-Jungled' into the wall. Wham!" Hay Lin chuckled, still in a hype herself.

Cornelia just chuckled in embarrassment, Apollo patting her on the back.

During this, Blunk looked around at his new surroundings before crawling toward the empty street and crawling down into the sewer drain.

"Well, guess he'll find his own way home," Apollo noted.

"I suppose I should thank you all for saving me," Caleb said.

"No problem, we're heroes, it's what we do." Nagare smiled, shaking his hand.

"What dangers do you suppose reside in your world?" Reptile asked, quite curious about this strange new land he had found himself in.

"Well, there's the cafeteria food," Taranee said playfully.

Later that night, everyone had regrouped at the Silver Dragon as Yan Lin brewed them all tea.

"I'm telling ya, I could get used to this!" Karma laughed as he and Irma had their arms around each other's shoulders.

"Do you think that Blunk guy will be okay?" Hay Lin asked.

"Passlings are resourceful creatures." Reptile said. "I'm sure he will be fine."

"If he comes up through the girls' bathroom, I'm switching schools," Taranee said.

"What say we can pass him off as a pet?" Edgar suggested, only to be glared at and cower in his seat. "Just a thought, of course."

"Hey guys, look what I figured out our initials spell!" Hay Lin showed them what she wrote on her hand: WITCH.

"Hey, what about the rest of us?" Karma asked with a pout.

"I don't know how our initials would work. NKEAF? I dunno what a NKEAF is..." Nagare muttered.

"Eh, we'll keep workshopping it." Apollo shrugged.

"And the important thing is, the bad guy didn't get our new best friends," Irma said as Will smiled and hugged her.

However, Yan Lin put the celebrations to an end. "Oh, Prince Phobos didn't want Will. Only her powers."

"And what about that dark, creepy shadow monster he had as a pet?" Nagare pointed out, Yan Lin looking at him curiously. "Yeah, he had this shadow monster helping him out. When I tried to rescue Will, it stopped us."

"Yeah, and he was touching me in ways I REALLY don't want to remember..." Will shivered. Nagare reached to comfort her, but when he saw her tense a little more, he just held out a hand for comfort. A hand that Will took.

Yan Lin seemed to have a deeply troubled expression on her face before looking to the teens, Caleb, and Reptile.

"Children?" Yan Lin said, getting their attention. "Did this…shadow creature have razor-sharp teeth and red eyes?

Caleb, Will, and Nagare tensed: That fit their attacker's description to a 'T!' And the old woman realized this, beginning to shake and sweat.

"Oh no…No, no, no, no! Not HIM!"

"Grandma!" Hay Lin and Froast called out, catching and bringing her to the table as Reptile grabbed a rag to clean off her sweat.

"Do not stress yourself, old one." The humanoid reptile gently said. "I think I know who he is…"

"I still need to say this." Yan Lin said, steeling her resolve. "Children, Caleb? That creature? If he is who I believe he is, then this has become far, far more dire. And darker."

"Who is he, Grandma?" Hay Lin asked, beginning to grow fearful herself.

"When the Guardians and Knights first came together, there was an 11th member of their band; while the holders of the powers Will and Nagare wield lead their groups, Velhallen Beo, an unparalleled genius in magic and tactics, acted as their strategist and aide. But he was no mere thinker; whenever one of the Knights or Guardians was indisposed, Beo was more than enough to compensate. For a time, things were grand…"

"Oh, I don't like where this is going..." Taranee noted.

"But then Beo decided that if he was already stronger than his allies on his own, he deserved the powers they wielded, along with the fame and perks that came with their titles. He tried to steal the heart and the Manacle, coming to blows with his former friends. It was a long battle, and worlds sadly suffered, but he was eventually bested. Despite everything however, His friends could not bring themselves to kill him; so they separated his body and soul, the latter of which is probably what you all saw."

The elderly woman took a large sip of tea to calm down, letting her words sink in for the kids to hear.

"So that Velhallen Beo guy is Prince Phobos' boss?" Nagare asked.

"Yes...and I fear your battle is yet to come..." Yan Lin grimly said.

Chapter Text

In Prince Phobos' castle, Cedric, in his human form, was presenting Vathek, kneeling on the ground with his arms in cuffs while being held by the castle's captain of the guard, Raythor.

"Prince Phobos, when the rebel leader, Caleb, escaped with the Guardians and the Knights, we found these."

Raythor held up the unlocked manacles that Caleb was held with when he was brought in.

"Either he picked the lock, or he was given the only key, which is now suspiciously missing." The Captain said. "He obviously helped the rebel leader. He's a traitor!"

"No!" Vathek said immediately. "I must have lost the key in the battle!"

"How convenient." Raythor sneered.

"Before we make any accusations, I would prefer to know all the facts. If Vathek is telling the truth, the key is still here." Phobos spoke. "Search the castle, but until it is located, Vathek will be confined to the dungeon for the time being. Raythor, watch over him."

Vathek looked nervous for a brief moment as Raythor took him away. As for Cedric, he transformed into his snake man form as he gave some final words to Vathek.

"I hope for your sake, Vathek, that the key is quickly found!"

The shadowy spirit of Velhallen Beo narrowed his crimson eyes in calculated thought, but then smirked as he said nothing. Something told him what was coming next would be far more amusing...

Back in Heatherfield on Earth, Hay Lin and Fraost were letting Caleb and Reptile stay with them in the Silver Dragon, but were having them dress up to blend in with the people of Earth.

Caleb was wearing a long-sleeved blue t-shirt with brown khakis and even a Yankees baseball cap, while Reptile wore a black muscle shirt with the Monster Energy logo on it, blue jeans, and brown boots.

"I don't exactly fit in with these clothes." Reptile said as he looked over what he was wearing.

"Aww, you guys look stylin'!" Hay Lin said. "Remember, you guys have to blend in here."

"I'm not supposed to be blending in here. I'm supposed to be battling Phobos in Meridian AND finding the rightful heir to the throne, who is somewhere in your ridiculously dressed world!"

"Oh, Caleb." Yan Lin teasingly said as she came down. "You and Syzoth are major chunks!"

"The correct term is 'hunk', Grandma." Fraost and Hay Lin corrected at the same time.

"Speaking of which...I wonder what Blunk is doing." Reptile said. "Considering his species, he must be getting into trouble, either here or back on Meridian."

In the castle town district of Meridian, the aforementioned Passling was doing what he did best.

"Rare fruit! Delicacy!" Blunk tried to show a cold French Fry to some people who just walked by.

Among his wares were other pieces of junk that he got from his short time on Earth, including a broken CD, an old cell phone, used pieces of clothing, an old videotape, and he even wore a bra over his head like a hat.

"Magic box of string!" He showed the videotape as he began to pull the tape out. "See? String never stop!"

A man stopped by after hearing Blunk's offers and discreetly looked around to make sure nobody was listening before speaking.

"I have no money, but my sister works in the castle, and I have some valuable information."

"Trade for attractive earplugs?" Blunk offered as he showed two old corn cobs.

"Uh… I'd rather have the hat." The man said, pointing to the bra Blunk wore on his head.

At the Silver Dragon, Caleb was looking over his clothes in a mirror after exploring town with Fraost.

Out of them, Caleb liked Fraost and Nagare the best; He was living with the gentle giant after all, and Fraost was always ready to help. As for Nagare, he seemed to be the most rational and even-tempered of his friends. Karma was a loud fool, but a kind-hearted one. Regarding Edgar, Caleb considered it a shame he wasn't born on Meridan; his intellect would've made him a boon to the rebellion. Yes, he had an ego, but that was a small price to pay. And finally, there was Apollo. His heart was in the right place, but he was way too confrontational

"Caleb, we have a...guest."

Hearing Reptile's voice, Caleb turned to see the Zatteran holding a familiar Passling by the collar of his hoodie.

"You!" Caleb snapped as Blunk grinned sheepishly. "How did you know I was here?!"

"Blunk know lots. Blunk know big secret. Sell Caleb secret."

Reptile shook Blunk in his grip and made the Passling face him as he growled, showing his razor-sharp teeth and reptilian eyes.

"Half-Off?" Blunk offered nervously before finally caving in. "Okay! Secret free! Vathek in trouble! Missing key! Big Trouble!"

"The manacle key?" Caleb asked in shock. "That's impossible! I put it in the hiding place like we agreed, so Vathek could recover it after I left."

Reptile narrowed his eyes and held Blunk upside down, shaking the Passling and making him drop everything he was holding...including the very same key Caleb was talking about.

"Not missing now." Blunk laughed nervously. "Finder fee?"

"You took the key?!" Caleb shouted angrily.

"Okay, bad decision," Blunk admitted before Reptile dropped him.

Caleb picked up the key and looked worried for his friend.

"Vathek saved my life. If I don't return this, he's as good as dead."

It was mid-afternoon as our ten teens with attitude were gathered on a rocky terrain near the water, about three miles or so out of town. Seemed like the perfect place to get some training in.

"I wish I was at home." Taranee shuddered, hugging herself. "It'd be warmer and less...bat-infested."

"It's alright, Taranee. Bats are more scared of us than we are of them." Edgar reassured.

"Come on, we need to get the hang of our new powers," Nagare said. "We got lucky last time, and right now, I'd like us to be better prepared."

"Nagare's right. Are you guys ready to jam?" Will asked the others.

"Oooh! Jam doughnuts!" Karma and Hay Lin excitedly said.

"Stop thinking with your stomachs!" Apollo barked.

Will took out the Heart of Kandrakar while Nagare took out the Guard of Apotropaia, both of them saying the magic words.

"GUARDIANS UNITE!"

"KNIGHTS RISE!"

One flashy transformation sequence later, the girls and boys were in their Guardian/Knight attire.

"WELCOME BACK, BABY!" Apollo grinned as he flexed in his armor.

Hay Lin shared in the sentiment as she immediately flew out of the cave and did some aerial maneuvers, enjoying the ability of flight more than anything.

"Show off." Irma snarked.

"Hay Lin, come back down here!" Fraost called out to his friend, who pouted as she floated back down.

"Mr. Killjoy, much?"

"Just making sure you don't get hurt." Fraost retorted.

"So, what should we do first?" Karma asked.

"Maybe training our powers?" Will noted.

Karma nodded and summoned a blade...which turned out to be an extremely long katana; easily the length of all ten of the magic users.

"Compensating much?" Apollo joked.

Karma rolled his eyes before making some fake ninja noises and swinging the katana as everyone ducked. The blade cut through a nearby large rock, which slid apart into two perfectly cut halves.

"H-How?!" Edgar asked.

Apollo decided to try something before getting on all fours and growling, his body glowing and shifting, before it became a large arctic wolf.

"Ooooh ho, ho, hooooo! Me likey!"

Edgar sighed as he picked up a nearby rock and held it in his hands. He then focused, and the rock glowed before transmuting into a brick of lead.

"Wonder if you could turn that into gold," Irma noted. "Then we could make it big on the stock market."

"I'd rather not have it all crashing down," Edgar said.

Fraost decided to get into a meditative pose, sitting down, crossing his legs, and putting his hands together as he closed his eyes and took deep breaths, a spiritual aura coming off of him as he suddenly levitated off the ground.

"Guess Grandma's Tai Chi lessons are really paying off, huh?" Hay Lin noted.

Nagare looked at his fist as it burst into flames. He then closed his eyes, and the flames changed into sparks of lightning, then torrents of air, and finally spirals of frost before dissipating. He then noticed Will had an unsure look on her face and made his way over to see what was wrong.

"Are you okay?"

"I dunno, I just don't really feel as special as the rest of you guys. I mean, you guys have all your cool powers but what can I do besides make everyone transform?"

"So what if you can't use elemental powers? You're still super strong!" Karma pointed out as he came over. "In fact, try lifting that big rock!"

Looking over to a large rock that looked like it weighed sixty pounds at least, Will made her way over and picked it up with both hands. She tried to heave it, but almost fell back in surprise as it felt like it wasn't even ten pounds in weight.

"Whoa! This… this feels really light!"

She then held it in one hand and threw it all the way out to the water, easily making it as far as forty feet before landing with a large, satisfying splash.

"See? There's still plenty you can do!" Nagare smiled.

"Hmmm...if you girls have super strength and speed like us..." Edgar hummed before noticing a large boulder on the cliffside. "Will, could you perhaps fly at that boulder and strike it with all your might?"

"Flying kick? Alright." Will took a few steps back before running at the boulder, and then jumping while using her wings to give an extra boost in speed as she stuck her foot out and kicked the rock so hard that cracks formed all over, and it crumbled into pieces. "Whoa! Did… did I really just do that?!"

"Heck yeah ya did!" Apollo laughed. "Now imagine it was Phobos' face!"

"Even better, imagine if it were that Velhallen Beo creep!" Nagare added.

"Well, that's pretty sweet, but I feel like the rest of us could use some help on our powers." Irma pointed out. "But still, Will, you gotta show us how to do that!"

Everyone split up, one girl going with one boy each. Apollo and Edgar went with Cornelia and Taranee near the beach to work with their respective elements, though Cornelia seemed less than eager to work.

"How am I supposed to use my power? Do you see any plants anywhere?"

"Did you forget the other day? Earth is not exclusively plants, Cornelia." Edgar sighed. "Earth is the very ground we walk on, the stones, the trees, the sand, everything!"

"Yeah, the nerd speaks true," Apollo said. "Try manipulating the sand we're standing on right now. Just imagine them as a bunch of tiny rocks."

Cornelia closed her eyes and tried to focus on the ground. As she did, the sand around her began to move and shift, swirling just below her palm. As she quickly pulled her hand up, a large sandcastle formed just below her. It was so big that it reached up to her chest, and was very detailed, looking like a real-life medieval castle.

"Very nice." Apollo nodded.

Cornelia chuckled. "Now if only I could make a real-life castle, then I could have my dashing prince rescue me from it."

"If you two are done flirting?" Edgar snarked as he turned to Taranee. "Okay, Taranee, just take a deep breath and try to focus."

Taranee did as Edgar instructed and put her palms together to try and get better control. She was able to create a large fireball in between her hands, but she shrieked at the sight of it and dropped it, causing it to burrow at her feet before going out in a puff of smoke.

Edgar sighed. "I understand your Pyrophobia...still, you know what they say, mastering fear isn't about eliminating it, it's learning to navigate it."

"Well, what would you suggest, E?" Taranee asked her friend. "You and I know that ever since we were kids, I've been terrified of fire because I could get burnt. Now I'm worried I'll just end up burning my friends too."

Edgar gave Taranee a sympathetic look as he gently took her hands in his armored ones.

"Fire can be dangerous, yes, but it can also serve as one's salvation. When you're stuck in the mountains, in the cold, a fire can save your life and keep you warm. A flame can also help you to see if you're lost in the dark. But more importantly, you have to think of this fire as a part of you."

Cornelia and Apollo looked at each other and smirked playfully.

"And he lambasted US for flirting?"

"Hush!" Edgar snipped at the two before turning back to Taranee. "You control the power; it does not control you. Relax, and try again."

Taranee seemed to take Edgar's words to heart as she sighed, taking a deep and long breath to calm herself as she recited what Edgar told her in her head.

"I control the power; it doesn't control me."

Taranee created another ball of fire in her hand. This time, she wasn't afraid. She tossed it up and down in her hands like a regular ball and seemed to be in control. The bespectacled girl then motioned her hands around the fire to change its shape and form. With another pull and shift, she had transformed her flame into the shape of a Chinese Dragon.

"Hey… I… I did it! I did it!" She threw the fire-dragon straight up into the air, where it exploded brilliantly like the biggest, brightest firework in existence.

"You sure did, Taranee." Edgar smiled behind his mask.

"Yeah, not half-bad." Cornelia complimented as Taranee herself smiled and sheepishly rubbed her arm.

Meanwhile, closer towards the water, Fraost and Karma were working with Hay Lin and Irma; the former was still as hyper as usual.

"Okay, so what do I do? I mean, I can already create a tornado. See?"

To emphasize, Hay Lin spun her body around and created a small tornado around her. However, Fraost harnessed spiritual energy in his palm and thrust it forward, dispersing the tornado with a simple push.

"Hey, what was that for?"

"You can use your powers, but can you CONTROL them is the question." Fraost pointed out. "Try to start small this time. Make an air sphere."

Hay Lin sighed as she brought her hands together to create a small air ball that spun rapidly.

"Okay, now see if you can flatten it into a disc, but remember to keep the pressure steady."

Hay Lin did just that. She was able to flatten the sphere of air and make it about as thin as a sheet of paper, but kept up the constant air pressure.

"Alright! Target practice!"

Fraost picked up a large boulder with relative ease and threw it into the air.

"Throw it now!"

Hay Lin took her air disc like a frisbee and threw it at the top portion of the boulder, but looked in surprise to see it actually cut through the rock like a knife through butter.

"Whoa! Didn't see that coming!" Irma voiced in surprise.

"Friggin' sweeeet!" Karma cheered.

"Oh… how did I do that?" Hay Lin questioned.

"You just needed to focus. Air is a powerful element, not just an all-consuming tempest, but with enough pressure, even a mountain can crumble underneath the wind." Fraost explained.

"You got that off a fortune cookie, didn't you?" Hay Lin smirked.

"I will neither confirm nor deny to give you the satisfaction." Fraost cheekily shot back.

"So, it's all about focus and control, huh?" Irma asked. "Well, I think I got a handle on that."

She walked closer towards the water and pulled up a large blob of the liquid, getting the attention of everyone present.

"I give you… Cornelia!" She announced as she molded the water into a near-identical copy of Cornelia's face.

This resulted in claps from everyone present except for Cornelia, who just looked annoyed.

"Thanks for the nose." The blonde grumbled at the sight of the crooked nose in Irma's water sculpture.

"Thank you, thank you very much." Irma bowed, quoting Elvis.

Unfortunately, as she did that, she lost control of the water, causing it to explode outward like a downpour of rain, complete with the sea-creatures she brought up, including fish, crabs, and starfish. This caused everyone to scream or yell as they tried to take cover.

"Ewwww, crabs!" Taranee cried.

"Aww, sweet, I love crab!" Karma cheered as he held up a crab. "Let's make a hot pot!"

After getting cleaned up and dried off, the gang all made their way back to the Silver Dragon.

"Well, that went...well, don't you think?" Will asked the group.

"Speak for yourself," Edgar grumbled as he looked at Karma, who was carrying a plastic bag full of fish and crab.

Taranee shivered as she felt something down her back.

"Uh… I feel something down the back of my neck."

Nagare came behind Taranee and saw what it was.

"Um… promise not to freak out if I tell you what it is?" Taranee shook her head. "Then it's just some seaweed."

It was actually an eel that Nagare pulled out and threw to the ground, which slithered into the sewers.

"You guys gotta have gotta come in and see Caleb and Syzoth's new outfits." Hay Lin excitedly said. "I designed this really cute retro aviator fifties thing, and I think if you all hold Caleb down..."

As everyone entered the restaurant, Yan Lin was waiting for them with an urgent look on her face.

"Everyone! I have some terrible news!"

"That eel down Taranee's neck was poisonous?!" Karma gasped.

"Uh...the what?" Taranee asked nervously.

"Caleb and Syzoth are gone. I'm afraid they may have returned to Meridian." Yan Lin answered, resulting in the group looking in shock or surprise as most of the girls gasped.

"Come again?!" Apollo exclaimed.

"This just got needlessly complicated..." Fraost said as he pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Why the heck would Caleb leave without saying anything?!" Irma questioned as they went into the basement, where the rebel leader was previously sleeping. "Not much of a team player."

"Perhaps he had a reason to leave, an emergency with his rebellion," Edgar suggested. "And since Syzoth is part of the rebellion, he went with him for support."

"What's that smell?" Will asked, sniffing the air.

"Well, the last time I smelled that, someone stole my damn french fries!" Karma said.

"BLUNK." Everyone said in unison.

"Perhaps he had something important to tell Caleb, which could explain why he left so urgently," Fraost suggested.

"So, we find the little gremlin, we find Caleb and Syzoth." Apollo voiced. "Any idea where to find him?"

"Well, we'll need to be magic pixies and dashing handsome knights again," Irma said.

"Already ahead of ya," Will said as she and Nagare got out the Heart of Kandrakar and Guard of Apotropaia.

After transforming, the girls and boys arrived at a nearby dumpster in an alleyway.

"Someone like Blunk would thrive in a place like this," Nagare noted as he clenched his fist, golden light shining from it as he illuminated the darkness.

The contents of the dumpster shook as multiple pieces of junk were tossed out, a familiar face giggling impishly.

"Oooh, treasures! Yes! Yes!"

"Blunk!" Nagare snapped, getting the Passling's attention as he peeked out of the trash.

"What is he wearing?!" Hay Lin gasped, seeing that Blunk was wearing the Earth clothes Caleb previously wore, including the red cap.

"Ooh, sweet! Blunk stylin'!" Blunk said, trying to look hip.

"Blunk, you gotta tell us where Caleb and Syzoth went!" Karma said urgently.

"Back to Meridian. Went through portal." Blunk answered.

"Take us to the portal!"

"No! No! Portal secret!"

"You showed Caleb and Syzoth where it was." Will pointed out.

"Caleb pay," Blunk said as he showed off the clothes. "With tight threads!"

"How do you know where the portals are anyway?" Irma asked.

"Blunk always know. Blunk a Passling. Passlings can smell."

"Ooh, boy, is that an understatement." Taranee cringed as she waved away the stench.

"Smelling portals good for smuggling, yes," Blunk explained. "If Blunk show, girls close!"

"We have to close it or evil oozes through!" Will pointed out.

"It's like putting the cap on the toothpaste," Irma said before snickering. "What am I saying? You obviously never used toothpaste in your life!"

"I can't believe you're wearing those clothes!" Hay Lin snapped at Blunk.

"Blunk got it goin' on!"

"I'll admit, those clothes look snazzy on him," Apollo said.

"Oh no, Blunk got it coming off!" Hay Lin snapped. "I made those for Caleb! If I find him, he's gonna wish Phobos found him first!"

Hay Lin's threat freaked out Blunk as he dove into the dumpster and crawled out of a hole in the side, and ran as fast as he could.

"After that goblin!" Karma shouted.

The group ran out of the alleyway and chased after Blunk down a street as he jumped down into what appeared to be a sewer but vanished in a flash of light. The group quickly ran to see what it was that Blunk jumped into.

"Portal crack over a manhole," Edgar muttered. "Never thought I'd stoop this low."

"Well, as a famous orange-wearing turtle would say..." Karma smirked. "COWABUNGA!"

Everyone quickly jumped or flew in, Taranee being the last one to go.

"Ooooh, bat caves, rat-infested alleys, and now sewer diving?!"

She plugged her nose and dove into the crack, joining the others on the other side.

Meanwhile, in a chamber within Phobos' castle, the prince's master channeled his magic into an orb; he was searching for his body and was getting closer and closer by the day. Once he found where it was, all it would take to bring it to him would be the ordering of the nearest units and or the coercion of the nearest village to dig it up.

"Then I'll show that foolish boy what REAL power…!" The villain began before suddenly, the orb he was using began to shine brightly; symbols in a myriad of colors appeared and moved all over them. "What is...? Wait. Only the Knights and guardians with their powers restored could do this…"

This filled the great evil with a feeling he'd not felt in centuries: FEAR.

"They're coming...! As they promised! …. To DESTROY ME!" He cowered ever so slightly before rage overtook his form. "And I'm so close to release!"

"Umm...sir?" A random soldier asked nervously.

"GO!" Beo roared furiously, scaring the soldier as he rushed out. "FIND THOSE FOOLS! AND BRING ME THEIR BEATING HEARTS!"

The shadowy mass of his being took on a humanoid shape, reminiscent of the body he once had all those eons ago.

"And I'll eat them...RAW."

Chapter Text

The ten teens with attitude all regrouped as they had now entered the realm of Meridian, which was about as dark and gloomy as they remembered.

"Why is it always dark here?" Cornelia complained.

"Different time zones. Evil is five hours ahead of us." Irma joked a bit.

"Guess Daylight Savings Time is a myth in this universe." Karma quipped.

"Where is Blunk?" Nagare asked as he looked around.

"The little green rat is going that way!" Hay Lin called out as she made out Blunk running away. "Hey! That's four-hundred thread silk! Quit dragging the sleeves!"

"I've got this!" Nagare said as he focused and then snapped his fingers.

Blunk suddenly found himself tripped up by a vine that grew from the ground, which then wrapped around his ankle and held him upside-down, allowing everyone to catch up to him.

"Speaking of clothes, the wings ARE kinda obvious, don't ya think?" Will pointed out. "Not to mention the five teenage magic ninja warriors."

"Our masks conceal our faces perfectly! They can't recognize us!" Apollo argued.

"Yeah, but I'm pretty sure that Velhallen Beo guy might recognize us. No doubt he imparted some kind of knowledge onto Phobos." Fraost pointed out. "It's best if we find a way to blend in."

Fraost put a finger to his chin as he looked over everyone.

"Let me try something."

He focused on his spiritual powers, an orb of spirit energy growing from his palms and then engulfing the ten teens, who vanished from sight…except each other.

"Well, we blend in at least," Apollo noted.

"This is freaky," Will noted

"How did you do that?" Edgar asked.

"My Spirit Archetype's power is a mixture of mystical spirit force and psychic energy. I simply used it to create a lightbending aura around us that concealed our bodies."

"Great, so Fraost is like a Kung-Fu Spirit Psychic..." Karma said. "Man, what even is the difference between spiritual and psychic powers, anyway?"

"Honestly, let's just be glad we have a way to sneak around." Nagare pointed out.

Meanwhile, in another part of the same town, Caleb and Reptile had donned their normal attire as they carefully snuck around the buildings and alleyways to avoid the patrolling guards. It didn't help with the rain and storm either. They hid behind one alleyway, when someone suddenly came out, causing Caleb to jump, only to relax upon seeing it was his friend.

"Aldarn, you gave me one heck of a scare."

"Sorry, Caleb. They're out looking for you everywhere." Aldarn said, with a flying creature passing over them for emphasis. "We heard you'd gone through the Veil. What's it like there?"

"It's quite different from Meridian." Reptile noted. "Ah, apologies, I am Syzoth, but most call me Reptile."

"And the kids there ride some kind of board on wheels and say things like 'like' and 'totally' in their sentences." Caleb also said.

"Wow, sounds...cool," Aldarn said with a smile.

"It is...a peaceful place, for the most part." Reptile commented. "But it is not without its fair share of strife."

Meanwhile, in the dungeons of Phobos' castle, Vathek remained confined in his cell as Raythor continued to stand guard. So far, the key had not been found, and that made Vathek even more nervous, as he knew what would happen if the key wasn't found.

"In two hours, if the key is not found, you'll have a one-way trip to the abyss of shadows. And I'll be taking your job to fill in." Raythor said.

"Raythor… why do you serve Phobos?" Vathek asked.

"What?"

"I've seen the kind of man you are. You value honor above all else, and you are loyal to a fault. I don't understand, though, why someone like you would follow a tyrant like Phobos."

"He is no tyrant!" Raythor turned around. "Prince Phobos may not be perfect, but I vowed to serve the royal family, and I have every intention of keeping that vow."

"Raythor, have you not seen how the people are suffering?" Vathek questioned. "You have seen who Phobos has allied himself with!"

"Perhaps if the people and the Rebellion actually tried to work with Phobos, there wouldn't even be a fight," Raythor argued.

"Why would they work with him after all he's done?!" Vathek argued. "He even murdered his own parents so that he could claim the throne!"

"That's a lie!" Raythor shouted. "I have known the Prince ever since he was a boy. He did care for his parents and would never stoop so low as to end their lives."

"Raythor…" Vathek tried to reason with him.

"He may very well be the last of the royal family," Raythor said. "I will serve and protect my prince with my life."

Vathek hung his head. Raythor was indeed an honorable warrior, but it may be his honor and loyalty that blinded him to the truth. Whatever the case, Vathek may never know the reason, because his trip to the Abyss of Shadows seemed more than a possibility now.

Caleb, Aldarn, and Reptile were making their way down the streets, trying to come up with a plan to save Vathek.

"Aldarn, there's something I need to return in the Castle," Caleb said.

"Uh-huh, impossible," Aldarn said, shaking his head. "You'd need the Guardians of the Veil to get in there."

"You forget I am Zaterran, Aldarn." Reptile pointed out. "If possible, I might-"

However, right as the three walked out of another street, Caleb accidentally crashed into Will and Nagare, causing the rest of the Guardians and Knights to fall over each other.

"What are all of you doing here?!" The rebel leader questioned.

"Never mind that! Why aren't you wearing these clothes?!" Hay Lin snapped as she gestured to Blunk.

"We'd stick out like sore thumbs if we took them back with us to Meridian." Reptile pointed out.

"Why did you come back to Meridian without telling us?" Will questioned.

"I can handle myself!" Caleb brushed himself off as he stood up with everyone else. "I wouldn't even need to be here if he hadn't stolen this key!"

Blunk flinched as he hid behind Apollo while Caleb pulled out the key that may decide the fate of his friend.

"Wait… you're telling me this is all the stink-monkey's fault!?" Irma questioned as they saw that Blunk was long gone.

"Well, duh!" Caleb exclaimed.

"Duh? Your speech has, like, changed Caleb." Aldarn commented.

"Seems you're picking up on the changes as well, Aldarn." Reptile chuckled.

"And why were you guys running?" Caleb asked the Guardians.

"We were kinda running from HIM!" Taranee pointed behind her to show a guard coming in.

"Yeah, turns out they can smell fear," Nagare muttered, recalling how Fraost's psychic camouflage failed. "That and we didn't have any papers to give."

"Hey, get back here!"

"Caleb, run!" Aldarn cried.

"Um, Officer, what size shoe do you wear?" Caleb asked, trying to distract the guard.

"You! Where are your papers?!" The guard asked before freezing when the Guardians and Knights turned toward him. "G-Guardians!"

"FIRE!" Taranee shouted, taking action by sending a fireball that spun around the guard's sword, heating it up and making him drop it as the blade melted into slag on the ground.

Hay Lin then formed a tornado that spun the guard around, making him stumble dizzily as Cornelia manipulated a potted plant on the rooftop above to fall on his head, allowing Will to fly up and tip him over.

"TIMBER!" Karma called out.

"Okay, joking aside, how do you suggest we make our way into the castle?" Edgar asked.

"Let's just walk right through the front door."

Apollo gestured to a large stack of hay and an empty carriage with a horse at the reins. Everyone looked in wide-eyed surprise at the convenience.

"That'll work," Irma said.

After taking the uniform from the unconscious guard, the disguised Caleb escorted the horse-drawn basket filled with large hay, which was able to cover the rest of the gang as they crossed the bridge toward the castle's entrance.

"Hay, for Prince Phobos' horses." The disguised Caleb presented to the sentry at the gate. Everyone hiding in the hay remained silent as the sentry gave the okay to pass through, which they all did without any suspicion whatsoever.

"Aww man, this is just like Assassin's Creed!" Karma geeked out. "Shame Ubisoft went bankrupt."

"Ah, they dug their own grave," Apollo muttered.

After the coast was clear, everyone climbed out of the hay bale and followed Caleb and Aldarn down a large hallway near the castle's main entrance. So far, they haven't run into any guards yet.

"This place gives me the creeps. Let's just hide the key and get out without being noticed." Will said.

"Oh yeah, that's gonna be real easy with such a big group tagging along," Caleb grumbled.

"Hello? This group saved your life last time we were here, Mr. Brave Hero!" Nagare stated.

"Why didn't I just bring a bag full of screeching cats?!"

"Calm yourself, Caleb." Reptile said. "We will save Vathek."

"Unfortunately, we can't just hide the key," Aldarn said. "It had to be hidden in a specific spot before. But it's been too long, and they may already have Vathek waiting to be executed right now."

"Well then, let's just find this Vathek guy and get out of here," Apollo said.

"Yes, that's probably the best plan." Fraost agreed.

As they tried to sneak around, Edgar stepped on something that made a sickening SQUELCH and looked down to see he had stepped on what looked like a giant tick.

"I take it Phobos is feeding the insects something..." He muttered. "Still, I'd love to dissect this."

"Don't say anything. Or they'll hear Taranee screaming back at school." Will whispered.

As the group stopped around a corner, Cornelia ended up walking a bit further up, only to accidentally come right across the entrance way to a large mess hall filled with almost a hundred guards and Lurdens.

"Wow! What a terrible inconvenience!" Karma quipped as the rest of the Guardians and Knights joined Cornelia's side.

The creatures were quick to notice everyone's presence as they gave off alarming roars, while the guards quickly picked up their weapons.

"Alright, some action!" Apollo grinned. "I dream about fighting every night!"

"You've got serious rage problems, dude," Nagare said.

"IT'S NOT A PROBLEM!"

"I love that dork so much..." Cornelia sighed.

Everyone sprang into action, including Calab and Aldarn. Reptile transformed into his Zaterran Form and performed a grapple technique on a guard similar to a crocodile's Death Roll, slamming him to the ground unconscious before swinging his tail and smacking a few other guards out of the way when they tried to jump him.

"Watch out!" Caleb called out as he drew a sword and blocked an axe-strike from a guard to protect Aldarn, who took out a bow with a quiver of arrows he kept stashed.

Fraost channeled spirit energy in his fists, creating large transparent gauntlets as he began pummeling several guards who tried to jump him. Two Lurdens tried charging at him from two sides, but Hay Lin flew in and pulled him to safety, making the beasts slam their heads together.

"Oops, sorry!" The Air Guardian said jokingly.

Taranee spun her hands around as several enemies surrounded her as well, reciting "I control the power; the power doesn't control me!" as she created two large flames in each of her hands. She spun her body around to create a circle of flame to keep the guards back as Taranee took to the air with her wings and threw down a large vortex of fire at her enemies. The flames knocked them all down and made their weapons so hot they had to drop them or else get serious burns.

"Good job, Taranee!" Edgar said before cupping his hands together and focusing. "Okay, transmuting the air and igniting oxygen..."

Edgar then released a mighty explosion, sending him flying back from the kickback as he slammed into a Lurden, knocking it out in the process.

"I could get used to this!"

Apollo delivered a punch to send one guard flying and smashing into the ceiling before grabbing a Lurden by its legs and using the creature as a living weapon to smack and knock down three more guards before throwing it all the way to the other side of the mess hall.

"I LOVE BEING A KNIGHT!"

Karma reached his hand out to the fireplace and pulled the flames to create a sword made of solid fire, which he then used to slash and burn through the various guards' weapons while laughing all the while.

"I can even make weapons out of stuff!" He cheered.

Cornelia flew and landed on a table that was surrounded by several enemies. She tried to think of any Earth items she could use. No sand, no flowers, but… Wait, don't plants and wood come from the earth as well?

She smiled, realizing the wooden table she was standing on, and used her powers to bring the table up, controlling it like a puppet as the table spun around, its legs punching and knocking back the enemies that were nearby.

"You're really showing 'em who's boss, baby!" Irma praised her friend as she decided it was her turn now.

Shooting her hands forward to create a stream of water to blast her enemies back, the Water Guardian then trapped her enemies in a large sphere of water, which she hovered in the air before purposely losing control and letting the water explode to send all the previously trapped enemies flying everywhere.

Will took a combative stance as one guard approached her. She ducked underneath his sword and grabbed both his hands before pulling him over her body and using her enhanced strength to throw him far and into two more approaching guards. Another guard tried to attack, but she used her wings to fly above the axe-strike and gave an airborne cartwheel kick to his face to send him flying to the ceiling before giving a roundhouse to knock back two more Lurdens.

"Not bad!" Nagare praised as he clapped his hands over a Lurden's ears, discombobulating it as he knocked it away with a magma-infused punch.

Caleb, Aldarn, and Reptile were watching each other's backs as they took out their fair share of guards and Lurdens. However, it was clear that they were about to be overwhelmed. Hay Lin noticed and then looked up at a chandelier before getting an idea.

The Air Guardian created an air-sphere in her hand and compressed it into an air-disk, which she threw toward the chain connecting the chandelier to the ceiling, which severed on contact and fell to crash into the guards. Hay Lin cheered and pumped her fist at the success of her plan.

Pretty soon, all the guards were beaten and unconscious as the Guardians and Knights regrouped together and shared high-fives.

"That was… wow." Aldarn could hardly believe it. "Over a hundred guards and you took them all down like they were nothing."

"I haven't felt hope like this in a long time..." Reptile said.

"Hey, we're just awesome!" Karma chuckled.

"Celebrate later. We have a mission." Nagare reminded.

"That's right, follow me, quick!" Caleb motioned for the whole group to follow him deeper into the castle.

Vathek looked deep into the Abyss of Shadows; it was impossible to see anything down there. This seemed to be his fate, but he was at least glad he did what he could to help the Rebellion.

"They say, you fall forever," Raythor said as he stood by with a Lurden. "Of course, we'll never know, but you will. Say hello to the other conspirators for me!"

"Actually, you can do that yourself!"

Will flew in and, with a swift punch to the face, knocked Raythor out. The Lurden was about to attack before it was suddenly blasted by a bolt of ice courtesy of Fraost, freezing it in its tracks as the gentle giant walked over and knocked it into the abyss with a tap of his foot.

Everyone else came in, but before Vathek could even ask what was going on, he recognized his two comrades.

"Caleb! Aldarn!" He said in relief as he grabbed both of them by the shoulders in a near-crushing embrace.

"Easy! Easy!" Aldarn winced along with Caleb.

"It is good to see you again, Vathek." Reptile said as he came over.

"And you as well, Syzoth. Glad to see you escaped along with Caleb." Vathek smiled.

"My good friend, Vathek, these are the Guardians of the Veil." Caleb introduced the girls. "And the Knights."

"Dang, you look like a real tough guy," Karma commented as he looked Vathek up and down.

"I brought the key." Caleb took out the manacle key, but Vathek sighed, knowing it wouldn't do any good.

"Too late. They've searched everywhere, they know it's not here. Its sudden appearance would do me no good now."

"Then let's just get out of here," Irma said.

"We still need someone inside Phobos' ranks, however," Aldarn replied. "If he finds the true heir before we do, it may be too late to stop him."

Will began to think as she looked at the knocked-out Raythor, and an idea popped into her head as she snapped her fingers.

"I think I got it! Call out an alarm."

"What?" Vathek asked in surprise.

"Scream for help. You know, 'intruders! Guardians!'" Will explained. "Caleb, give me the key, Nagare punch Vathek."

"Excuse me?!" Nagare gawked.

Karma perked up. "Oh, I get it, the old switcharoo! Make the other guy look like the real spy."

Everyone seemed to get it, and it was actually a rather brilliant idea. Caleb gave Will the key as Vathek called the alarm.

"GUARDIANS! INTRUDERS IN THE CASTLE! HELP!"

Will quickly hid the key in the unconscious Raythor's armor just as the alarm horn was blown, alerting the entire castle.

"Sorry about this," Nagare said to Vathek, who nodded in understanding.

"Do what you have to do."

Making sure to pull his punch so as not to seriously hurt Vathek, Nagare slugged him in the face to knock him down.

"Don't move," Will whispered to Vathek as the group of heroes turned around to see a large gathering of guards and Lurdens, personally being led by Cedric.

"You..." The Snake Man hissed hatefully as he recognized the Guardians and Knights.

"Hey, handsome!" Apollo taunted. "Sorry, but no time for a rematch!"

Cornelia used her powers to bring down several stalagmites to create a large dust cloud, while Hay Lin created a large whirlwind around her body to spread the dust cloud out even further.

With their camouflage ready, Fraost then instinctively thrust his hands out before he and the rest of the Guardians and Knights, plus Caleb and Aldarn, were teleported in a flash of psychic energy. As the dust cleared, Vathek lay down as still as possible, a bruise on his face to make it look like he had been attacked as well.

"Search the tunnels!" Cedric ordered the guards and Lurdens as they turned around to run and search, leaving the snake man to approach Raythor as he came to.

"We…we were taken by surprise! Must have come to save this traitor." He said, referring to Vathek.

"Then why did they leave him?" Cedric questioned. "And why did he call the alarm?!"

He picked up Raythor by his armor, but as he did, the key that Will slipped in had fallen out.

"Well, well, well...what have we here?"

A shadowy claw stretched out from behind Cedric, revealing Velhallen Beo in the form of a wisp of shadows with glaring red eyes as he inspected the key. He then looked between Vathek and Raythor and smirked.

"I see what those Guardians did...but this might actually work in my favor."

Beo presented the key to Cedric, who looked at it and Raythor before hissing angrily.

"No! I… I didn't!" Raythor pleaded as Cedric threw him to the ground.

"Let's see if Phobos believes you." Cedric scowled before turning to Vathek. "Alright...back to your post."

Vathek sighed. Though he was relieved his life was spared and his cover would remain intact, there was a twinge of sympathy for Raythor; knowing Phobos, he would not take this 'treachery' lightly.

The dark prince looked in surprise to see Cedric and Velhallen Beo return with Raythor, whom they threw to the ground.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Phobos stood up from his throne.

"Vathek was innocent. But as it turns out, Raythor had the key all along." Cedric said as he presented the manacle key in his clawed hand.

"What?!" Phobos exclaimed.

"My Prince, no! It's a lie! I never had it!" Raythor pleaded.

"The Guardians and Knights were here in the castle recently." Velhallen Beo said, getting Phobos' attention as the shadowy demon slithered back to his side. "But they left Vathek, the suspect, behind. Signs show he was ambushed as well, and he called the alarm. If he were truly allied with the Rebellion, they would have brought him with them during their escape."

"If I were a traitor, they would have taken me with them!" Raythor exclaimed. "But they left me behind!"

"Perhaps you aren't allied with the Rebellion, but you certainly aren't as loyal to the prince as you claim." Velhallen Beo chuckled. "Maybe...seeking to claim the throne for yourself?"

"I would never!" Raythor yelled. "My Prince, you've known me since you were a boy! I was loyal to your mother and your father! I protected you when the entire kingdom turned against you! I would never betray you!"

"Evidence points to the contrary." Beo laughed.

"Enough!" Phobos exclaimed, silencing the argument. "Raythor had the key?"

"Yes, I can confirm this," Cedric answered.

"My Prince… I… I don't…"

Raythor's pleas, however, fell on deaf ears as Phobos pointed forward.

"Take him to the Abyss of Shadows," Phobos ordered, causing Raythor to look in utter horror.

"No!" He shouted as three black tentacles formed from Beo's shadowy mass to seize him. "No! Please! PHOBOS!"

Beo cackled as he formed his mass around Raythor, taking him to the same pit he almost threw Vathek into.

Phobos slumped into his throne with a sigh, a heavy weight on him as he felt sorrow at the supposed betrayal Raythor had committed.

"It seems you were right, Master...I cannot trust anyone..."

Back on Earth at the Silver Dragon, Hay Lin and Fraost were in the basement, Yan Lin and Caleb watching as Hay Lin dressed someone up.

"At first, I wasn't sure how it would look with your skin tone. But I was right!" Hay Lin smiled as Blunk looked like he was dressed like an old-fashioned airplane pilot. "You're much more of a Spring than an Autumn!"

"He looks like an overgrown raisin." Caleb cracked.

"Caleb jealous. Blunk the bomb!" Blunk scoffed.

The Passling jumped off the stool as his robe pulled on a record player, accidentally playing it as a classic rock song boomed through the speakers. Blunk and Hay Lin immediately danced to the tune.

"You go, Blunk!" Hay Ling laughed with him as they continued to dance.

Even Yan Lin danced with them.

"Hey, shall we 'get down', Rebel Boy?" The old woman teased Caleb as she danced along with her granddaughter and the Passling.

Caleb smiled but shook his head. "I thought all Earthlings were strange. But I'm beginning to think it's just the females."

"We're all strange in our own ways." Fraost chuckled softly as he moved to join in the dancing.

Chapter Text

In Phobos' castle, the evil prince was bathing himself in a lake underneath the catacombs to replenish his magic powers. As he rose, Cedric bowed to him while the shadow of Velhallen Beo loomed behind.

"The waters don't refresh my powers as they once did. The life force of this city won't last forever." Phobos noted. "The need to find my sister has never been greater. Thirteen years. When they took her, she hadn't even been named.

"I can find where they keep the birth records of the Earth city." Cedric offered.

"Good. If we know all who were born there, we can narrow our search to those who were not." Phobos said.

"Be that as it may, with the Guardians and the Knights gathered together, you will no doubt need backup, Cedric." Velhallen Beo noted.

Phobos nodded. "Master does raise a valid point. Fortunately, I have gathered the best loyal soldiers to even the odds."

The nearby doors opened, and six figures stepped out. The one leading them was a big, burly man with large black horns protruding from his head. He wore a steel face guard reminiscent of a horned skull and carried a hammer and axe strapped to his back. From his attire, it was clear he was the general of the army.

Next was a younger man with stern, grizzled features. He had black hair and glowing blue eyes, and wore a red vest over a black top, a red belt, shin guards, spiked forearm guards, and black straps around his upper arms. He also had black face paint around his eyes.

The third individual was a man wearing a respirator mask with black hair peeking out in a dreadlock ponytail. He wore a black tunic vest and pants, accompanied by black army boots and gloves. The most distinguishing thing about him was his skin, which was covered in burn scars. He also had a pair of hook swords strapped to his back.

The fourth figure was a man who was dressed up like a cowboy, wearing a mask that covered the lower half of his face with shadows around his eyes and carrying a pair of revolvers, a repeat-action rifle strapped to his back, and a katana.

The fifth figure was a tall, muscular man with glowing orange eyes wearing a khaki hood and a metallic mask that covered the lower part of his face. He had rock formations decorating his arms as well.

The sixth and final figure was a beautiful, slender woman with unnaturally red hair with a black streak tied back in a low ponytail, fair skin, and gray eyes. She wore a tight ninja half-face mask from her nose to the edge of her collarbone, forearm and shoulder guards, and somewhat of a short loincloth, and a top revealing a bare midriff. She also wore red high-heeled over-the-knee boots and had four kunai strapped onto her right leg

"General Shao, Reiko, Kabal, Erron Black, Tremor, Skarlet..." Phobos addressed the six respectively. "You six are the ones who will accompany Lord Cedric to Earth in order to find information on the whereabouts of my sister."

"It shall be done, Your Highness," Shao said with a bow.

Will sighed as she stepped out of her mom's car for another day at Sheffield.

"Honey, are you sure you don't want to invite just twenty-five or thirty of your closest friends over?" Her mother, Susan, asked.

"No, Mom." Will sighed. "Not even just twenty-five or thirty of them."

"Okay, birthday girl. But remember, no matter how old you get, you'll always be my Pink Perky Poopy Pumpkin." Her mother teased before driving off.

"'Pink Perky Poopy Pumpkin?'"

Will turned around in surprise to see a smirking Nagare, Karma, and Irma at the school's entrance, groaning in embarrassment at the fact the boy she may or may not have a crush on now knew that humiliating nickname.

"How'd you earn that nickname?" Karma snickered, causing Will to roll her eyes as she tried to ignore them and walk into the school with the twins and Irma following her.

"So, it's your birthday, huh?" Irma asked in an excited tone.

"Friday," Will stated. "Promise you guys won't do anything dumb like throw me a surprise party."

"I love surprise parties!" Irma stated before catching a slight glare from Will. "By that, I mean I hate and despise them."

"That goes for you, too, guys," Will told the twin brothers. "Promise me you will NOT throw me a surprise party."

"Fine." Karma sighed as he raised his hand. "I promise not to throw you a surprise party."

"Uncross your fingers," Will said with lowered eyelids.

Karma showed both her hands, fingers uncrossed and all, as Nagare snickered.

"Okay, I promise that I will not throw you a surprise party," Karma said with an annoyed sigh, causing Will to smile triumphantly.

"At least, HE won't..." Nagare hid his own smirk, already having something up his sleeve as he and Karma shared a subtle wink.

"Does this look cooked to you?" Taranee asked as she sat down at a table with Cornelia, Hay Lin, Edgar, Apollo, and Fraost.

"Taranee, it's a carrot. The only way it can harm you is if you're mugged by rabbits." Cornelia sarcastically told her.

Edgar took a bite of his salad before proceeding to sip from his bowl of soup, furrowing his brow in annoyance.

"The soup is cold and the salad is hot! How is that even possible?!"

It was at that moment that Irma, Nagare, and Karma quickly joined the group at their table.

"Hey guys, guess whose birthday it is this Friday!" Irma said.

"I know! I know!" Hay Lin excitedly said.

"No, you don't." Fraost flatly replied.

"Yeah, I don't know."

"It's Will's birthday! Duh!" Karma stated.

"Are you guys gonna throw her a party?" Hay Lin asked, still excited.

"No, she made us promise not to," Nagare said as he turned to see Will getting her lunch served. "I'll be right back. I gotta warn her about the fish, cause I think this was breaded when they caught it."

"Right behind ya!" Irma said.

With that, the two hurriedly made their way towards Will to guide her to the more edible food.

"Yeah, WE promised not to throw Will a party. But YOU guys didn't." Karma smirked towards the others.

The eyes of the others widened for a moment, then relaxed: THIS was what the brothers were planning together? Oh, this was SO much more manageable!

"Karma, this is one of those moments where your genius is showing." Apollo chuckled.

"Where?!" Karma cried, covering his crotch, as if he was cut with his fly down.

"And like that, your idiocy returns…" Apollo sighed.

"We have to throw Will a party," Cornelia said, agreeing with what Karma had said.

"Whoa, hang on a minute." Hay Lin said as she turned to Karma. "You promised Will you wouldn't throw a party, so you're gonna have us throw her one instead?"

'Yeah, isn't that kinda mean?" Taranee asked.

"How is it mean?" Karma asked. "We're her friends, we should show her a good time on her big day, right?"

"My thoughts exactly." Cornelia agreed. "When she sees the party that I'm throwing, she'll be too jazzed to remember what she said."

"Well, any good party needs a theme and decoration as well as a place to set up." Edgar pointed out. "Hay Lin and Karma can cover the first two parts, but the place...any takers?"

"Why not Cornelia's place?" Taranee asked.

"Uh, problem. My last party was so unbelievably great, my parents say I can't have another one until after I leave home." Cornelia awkwardly explained.

"I was there..." Apollo said. "You guys do NOT want to know..."

Later that day, Cornelia, Hay Lin, and Karma walked through the mall to look for party supplies. They also brought Caleb and Reptile along in order for them to become better familiar with Earth's terrain.

"So, Caleb, you are gonna learn all about parties," Cornelia said.

"Uh, you do know what parties are, right?" Karma joked.

"We have parties in Meridian!" Caleb stated. "To celebrate the end of Klunderfeast, we cook and eat an ox!"

"Though I believe the way you do parties here is more... Extravagant." Reptile admitted.

"Yeah, we're not exactly from Viking Town like you guys." Karma sarcastically quipped.

It was at that moment that Cornelia spotted four of her friends and waved them over.

"Hey girls!"

The first girl was blonde with gray-blue eyes, the second girl had reddish-brown hair with blue eyes, the third girl had brown hair in a ponytail and was wearing a baseball cap, and the fourth girl also had brown hair tied in two large sock buns and was wearing a visor over her head.

"Yo, Corny!" The ponytail girl greeted. "How are ya, girlfriend?"

"Friends of yours?" Reptile asked.

"Yeah!" Hay Lin smiled. "These are Elyon, Alchemy, Hilda, and Rosa."

"Whoa, are you a ninja?" Rosa asked.

"Not exactly." Reptile chuckled. "My name is Syzoth, but my friends call me Reptile."

"Are you foreign?" Hilda asked.

"Yeah, he's foreign." Hay Lin said quickly. "But he's been picking up on our language amazingly!"

"Okay, girls, this is serious stuff," Cornelia said. "Party, Friday, five o'clock, Irma's house. It's Will's birthday."

"Oh, you mean the new girl?" Hilda asked. "Sure! We're down!"

"It's a surprise, so don't tell Will. Or Irma." Hay Lin said.

"But you said it was at Irma's house," Elyon said, confused.

"Yeah, don't ask," Karma told them as Alchemy, Hilda, and Rosa turned to see Caleb trying to look at a payphone and bang it on the side.

"Who's that?" Alchemy asked.

"That is Caleb, my...friend." Reptile sighed.

The conversation was brought to a screeching halt as Uriah and his gang skateboarded near the group after evading a mall security guard.

"Hey, how come Kurt, Clubber, and me didn't get invited to this party of yours?" Uriah questioned.

"'Cause I'm not inviting creeps," Cornelia told them with crossed arms. "Oh, I'm sorry; Creeps, Reptile and Caleb; Reptile and Caleb, Creeps."

"Hello...creeps?" Reptile waved awkwardly as he and everyone else, aside from Caleb, walked away.

"Pleased to meet you." Caleb greeted casually. "Uh… are you related?"

He was dragged away by Cornelia to avoid an awkward situation as the trio of bullies glared in their direction.

"I take it those three are troublemaking thieves in your residence?" Reptile asked.

"Judging by the way they're going, thieves is most likely." Alchemy laughed.

"That's just Uriah and his gang," Elyon explained. "They think they're tough, but they're just a bunch of jerks. Just ignore them."

Those are your tough guys?" Caleb asked Cornelia, fortunately, outside the hearing range of Elyon, Alchemy, Hilda, and Rosa. "I'd like to see them last one second in a Skulldorian scream cage.

"Caleb, you're a guest in this dimension, remember?" Cornelia reminded. "Not everyone here's a soldier, so you can't go all rebel leader and beat the crap out of people out of nowhere. Even if they are jerks. Promise me."

Caleb didn't respond but gave something of a nod with a pouting face, causing Hay Lin to snicker.

"Aw, he's so cute when he sulks." Hay Lin teased.

Off to the side, Karma chuckled at the scene, but for a different reason.

"Good thing Apollo's busy with…whatever it is he's doing; can't say I blame him, but if Irma was crushing on Caleb like Corny is? I'd throw hands."

All seemed quiet in the park as there wasn't a single pedestrian, or even animal, in sight. However, this peaceful silence was interrupted by small surges of energy coming from behind a vacant shed. A blue light shone as a portal suddenly appeared.

Stepping out were Cedric and Phobos' six enforcers, all of them taking in their new surroundings before Kabal took a runner's start and began zooming around, leaving a purple blur behind before eventually returning to his comrades.

"I found a place of interest while scouting out the place. Follow me."

"Guess what the theme is!" Cornelia excitedly exclaimed to Taranee, Edgar, and Fraost as she showed off the green decorations all over her room.

"Uh… the color you turn when you're gonna throw up?" The bespectacled girl guessed.

"Hello? Haven't you ever looked at Will's backpack, her pencil case, and that dangly thing on her hat?" Cornelia reminded.

"I guess not attentively enough."

"She's got frogs on them!" Cornelia exclaimed. "She likes frogs, so Frog-Party! Are you loving it?!"

"It looks like someone barfed on the walls." Lilian, Cornelia's younger sister, commented.

"I couldn't have said it better myself, dearest Lillian." Edgar quipped.

Cornelia chose to ignore both those statements as she showed Taranee and Fraost a little kiddie pool.

"And voilà. The snack pond."

"That's my wading pool!" Lillian stated. "You can't have that!"

"Quiet, or I'll shave your bear." Cornelia threatened her sister, causing the younger girl to gasp as she protectively held her teddy bear.

"That was uncalled for..." Fraost said as Edgar kneeled down to comfort Lilian

"She didn't mean that, Lillian. Your sister just wants to do good for a friend and WILL BE APOLOGIZING WHEN THIS IS OVER!"

Cornelia actually buckled under that threat.

"Apollo, where are you?!"

Taranee couldn't help but smirk, proud of Edgar for showing the little girl kindness.

"OK, Taranee, you're making floating lily pad cupcakes, with flies made out of raisins," Cornelia, snapping out of her fear, said. "Meet both Will and Irma after school and make sure they're not dressed like pigs, but without them figuring out why."

"Raisins?" Edgar asked in disgust. "Can't we make little chocolate chip flies? Or heck, maybe gummy flies!"

"Uh… how do I do that?" Taranee asked.

"I can help. Don't worry." Edgar said, patting his friend on the back. "After all, two heads are better than one."

At the Silver Dragon, Yan Lin had brought Hay Lin over to show her something: a rolled-up sheet of old paper.

"What is it? The world's oldest place mat?"

"No, Hay Lin. This was once part of a great map hanging on Prince Phobos' wall." Yan Lin explained. "Years ago, a soldier, tired of serving the evil prince, tore off a crucial piece of Phobos' map, the part showing our world, and escaped. He gave the map to a Passling, one who moves between worlds. And thus it came to me. In our world, the map is blank. Unless activated by the Heart of Kandrakar, currently held by our friend Will."

"Why wait till now to give me this?" Hay Lin asked. "Is it because my powers are finally mature enough that I'm worthy?"

"Nah. It was in the attic. I couldn't find it." Yan Lin cheekily replied. "Found my old tennis racket too."

"This 'chosen one stuff' is way less cool than I expected." Her granddaughter sighed.

Nagare was in his room, busy with his birthday present for Will and not wanting anyone to come in and spoil it, especially not Karma.

"Come on, Nag, you've gotten to know Will for like...three or four weeks? And you also saved her from a shadow monster and an evil prince and got to become a superhero with her..."

He was deep in thought, wondering just what to get for the girl he may or may not have developed feelings for. A lightbulb suddenly flashed in his head as he perked up, inspiration taking hold.

"Wait...that's it!"

Nagare wasn't the only one working on making a gift for Will; Caleb himself was contemplating what to give her. True, he had only just met her, but it was the least he could do for her, as she not only saved him from Phobos' dungeon, but even Vathek's life during that whole missing-key fiasco. But unlike Nagare, who was already making something, Caleb was at a loss as to what to give her.

"We've got to get Will something for her birthday. In Meridian, I'd give her the customary chicken-skin hat."

"I highly doubt Earth females would appreciate that." Reptile chuckled with a shake of his head. "And I also highly doubt they'd be accepting of the Zaterran Acid Bone Necklace."

"Well, Earth girls do like to buy the stuff that smells in tiny bottles," Caleb noted.

"Blunk have smelly in bottle; Gargoyle Sweat!" Blunk pulled out a black vial of the green substance.

Caleb shook his head, doubting Will would like something like that. He turned around and happened to spot some spare wood lying in the corner. This gave him an idea of what to make for her.

It wasn't long before Friday rolled around. As Will and Irma walked outside, they were greeted by Karma, Edgar, and Taranee.

"Hey, guys. Guess what, that Boyzilla band is playing at the mall in a few hours!"

"You're kidding?! Let's go!" Will said excitedly.

"Yeah, but first…" Karma brought out some bags. "You should dress up? You know, look nice for the guys?"

"Always the one with an eye for fashion, huh?" Irma smirked.

"What can I say? I like to make sure everyone looks their best for any event." Karma smirked.

"Which is one of the good notes I can say about him..." Edgar quipped under his breath.

"Come on, let's change!" Taranee hurriedly insisted, noticing the suspicious looks Will and Irma had.

Hay Lin knocked on the front door, which Irma's father, Tom, answered a few seconds later.

"Hi, Mr. Lair!" Hay Lin greeted. "Irma's not home, right? Great! Come on in, guys!"

Tom looked in confusion as Hay Lin, Cornelia, Nagare, Apollo, Fraost, and several other kids brought in some party supplies.

The sun went down as Karma, Edgar, and Taranee led both the well-dressed Will and Irma to the house, much to the latter's confusion.

"Uh, why are we stopping at my house again?"

"Because…" Karma opened the door dramatically to reveal the party inside.

"SURPRISE!"

"You guys promised!" Will complained.

"You're absolutely right, I did!" Karma said. "But the others didn't make that promise, did they?"

"You really need to word your suggestions better." Edgar playfully said.

Cornelia threw her arms around Will and Irma.

"Can you believe Irma didn't wanna throw you a party just because you told her not to? Give me thirteen hugs, birthday girl!"

Meanwhile, with Phobos' Enforcers, Kabal led everyone to the point of interest he had singled out: City Hall.

"So, this is where we'll find what we're looking for?" Skarlet asked.

"Yup, I got a peek inside while nobody was looking. We'll find all we need there."

"Then let us make haste. Even with Cedric in his human form, we stand out amongst the denizens of this realm." Reiko said.

"What if anyone crosses us?" Erron Black asked.

"Simple...leave no witnesses," Shao ordered with a low growl.

Chapter Text

Kids danced, music played, food was eaten, and it appeared that this party was a grand time had by all. All except for the girl for whom this party was made.

"I can't believe you guys did this." Will grumbled to Irma, Nagare, and Karma with crossed arms.

"I had nothing to do with it!" Irma immediately said.

"It's true, she was totally clueless." Karma pointed out.

"But you also promised, Karma." Will glared at him.

"Yeah, I promised, but Cornelia didn't. She planned this whole thing. Though to be fair, I would have been cool if it was just the ten of us going out for pizza...or even Mexican!"

"In all the years you knew Cornelia, you didn't think she might want to do something like this?" Nagare asked his twin, who shrugged.

"Hey, I'm no good at party planning."

"He says, despite being the most requested babysitter in town…" Nagare groaned.

"I'm gonna get something to drink." Will sighed as she walked away from the pair, just as a boy with glasses and brownish-blonde hair walked up.

"Hey, thanks for inviting me, Sweet Lips." He said to Irma.

"I didn't invite you, Martin. I didn't invite ANYONE." Irma snapped before looking him dead in the eyes. "And don't you ever call me Sweet Lips!"

"I uh… didn't wanna say anything in front of the other guests…" The boy named Martin began. "But uh… There were flies on your cupcakes. Don't worry, though, I pulled them off."

"Those are raisins, Martin," Karma said with a roll of his eyes. "Of course, I would've preferred chocolate chips, but Cornelia insisted it had to be raisins."

Martin left as Irma sighed while pulling her hand down her face.

"Ah, he's a good kid." Karma sighed. "Though tell me if he ever calls you Sweet Lips again so I can set him straight that you're MY girl."

"YOUR girl?" Irma sarcastically asked.

"No comment." Karma huffed, looking away with a small blush.

"Will you two just date already?" Nagare groaned as he went after Will.

Meanwhile, Kabal led his allies towards a large building in the middle of the park, which appeared to be closed for the night due to the lack of lights.

"Here it is, City Hall."

"Allow me." Shao chuckled as he drew his Wrath Hammer and used it to smash open the doors.

Cedric transformed into his snake man form as he slithered around City Hall while the rest of the Enforcers split up to cover more ground.

Outside, a boy was walking his dog past the building when the dog caught an odd whiff and barked at the building. The boy looked up towards a window to see the silhouette of Cedric, along with six other people, causing him to look in fright.

Caleb and Reptile were about to walk inside and join the party, but the former was stopped when a certain Passling grabbed onto his leg.

"Blunk help with gift. Blunk go inside!"

"No, you can't. They've got enough frogs in there as it is." Caleb said.

"Their parties seem quite tame compared to the ones on Meridian." Reptile noted as he looked through the window.

Caleb shook Blunk off his leg and walked inside and closing the door behind him. However, as he did, four familiar girls approached him.

"Hi, remember me from the mall? Alchemy?"

"Remember me to? I'm Elyon."

"And I'm Hilda, and this is my sister, Rosa!" Hilda said, slinging an arm around Rosa. "Oh, and we have one other friend with us! Hey, Bianca!"

A cute girl with blonde hair, a green beret, and prominent hips hurried over, letting out a gasp of delight when she saw Reptile.

"Oh wow, he really is well-muscled!"

"Uh...thank you." Reptile awkwardly said. "I am Syzoth, just call me Reptile."

"And I'm Caleb...from the mall." Caleb greeted as well.

"Back off, girls." Cornelia approached Caleb as she gave them a small stink-eye before turning to him. "Stick with me, or they'll tear you to pieces."

"And ME!" Apollo said as he hurried over, giving Caleb his own stink-eye.

"I guess I'll have to hold these 'vicious beasts' off." Reptile playfully said as Cornelia and Apollo led Caleb away.

"You definitely look like the type who could wrestle an alligator to the ground," Hilda smirked.

"Do you know martial arts?" Rosa asked.

"I am proficient in the ancient art of Leopard Style." Reptile admitted as he helped himself to a glass of punch.

"What do you do to get so muscular?" Bianca asked excitedly.

"When you live where I used to for as long as I had, you learn to adapt your body to any climate."

Meanwhile, Irma was in the kitchen washing some dishes as she saw her father walk down the stairs, much to her alarm.

"Dad, no!"

"I just want to get the remote." Tom said as Irma pushed him back up the stairs.

"I don't throw parties while you are out of town, you do not embarrass me when you are IN town."

Tom feigned heartbreak but ultimately did as his daughter asked. As he headed up the stairs, he waved to Karma.

Meanwhile, Nagare had found Will sitting by herself.

"Sorry..." He said, breaking the silence. "Should've respected your wishes."

"Yeah, you really should've." Will noted, then smiled sadly. "Still, thanks for trying. I'm just…"

"Not a fan of crowds?"

"More like never had the time to be IN a crowd, honestly. We moved around a lot, then the divorce …Then my so-called friends at…" Will paused suddenly. "Oh shoot, was that…?"

"Nah, nah." Nagare assured her, now feeling worse. "Fact? I kind of understood; Karma and I weren't always stable…"

His mood turned, painful memories coming to him,

"Listen, shameless attempt to move on and make up?" Nagare said as he reached behind his back and handed Will a small, nicely wrapped box. "Happy Birthday."

Deciding to indulge her friend, Will unwrapped and opened the box.

"Whoa!"

Inside, there was a frog-shaped medallion, decorated with small stones of varying colors.

"I know, its tacky and maybe a bit much," Nagare sheepishly said. "But I saw it and…"

"How did you know I like frogs?" Will asked.

"Lucky guess?"

Will slipped the medallion on and smiled.

"Thanks, Nag."

Seeing his crush smile? It made Nagare's week.

"Here they are!"

The two were startled by the sight of their friends pouring in.

"Hey." Caleb greeted as he came over. "I see you still get birthday gifts on Earth, huh?"

"You got something too?" Nagare asked.

"Yeah. I know it's not much, but..."

Caleb handed Will what he had made for her, which she looked at in surprise. It was a piece of wood that had an image of Will, in her Guardian form, sitting on a cloud with stars around her, carved into it. There was even some coloring on her wings; it looked almost like stained glass.

"Wait…did…did you make this?" Will asked in surprise.

"Yep," Caleb confirmed. "I carved it out of some wood I found in Miss Lin's basement, and the wings are even dragon scales."

Caleb then reached into his pocket and pulled out a ring that appeared to be made of some kind of metallic bone.

"And Syzoth got you this. He says it used to belong to his mother when his father first courted her."

"You guys are really talented." Will admitted with a smile.

"Sure, no problem." Caleb smiled, glad Will liked his gift.

As everyone continued to dance throughout the living room, Hay Lin and Fraost both sat on a couch, eating some cake, when they both saw Blunk outside the window, hopping up and down to be let in.

"Aww, poor Blunky." Hay Lin looked in sympathy.

"Eh, wouldn't hurt to give him a little cake, right?" Fraost said as he opened the window and handed the Passling his cake before closing the window so that nobody saw.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the fence of another house outside, Uriah kept watch as his gang sat behind the fence with some cheap horror-movie masks.

"When do we do it?" Clubber asked.

"We do it when I say we do it," Uriah grumbled as he sat back down.

"Sure thing, Uriah," Clubber said. "Uh… when are you gonna say we do it?"

Uriah could only grumble in annoyance at his friend's stupidity.

Back inside, Will looked around at the party and couldn't help but sigh. Not out of anger, but rather sadness. So, she simply walked out the door, with only Nagare noticing that she had left.

Will sat down on the porch and looked at the gift Caleb gave her. Though she was grateful for it, she wasn't too happy about the party and simply sat with a somber look on her face.

"Gotta say, Caleb really does good work," Nagare said as he sat down next to her. "Guess rebel boy's good for something after all."

Though Will did smile a bit, it was quick to fade. Nagare frowned when he saw the somber look on her face.

"Well, you know what I think?" He began. "I am sorry for what happened; guessing friends didn't support you during the divorce?"

Will nodded.

"Well, I think you just didn't have the right friends. Karma may be an idiot, Edgar may be a smartass, Apollo has a temper, and Fraost looks like he has no emotion, but none of us would ever be that shallow. And you can bet Irma, Taranee, Cornelia, and Hay Lin won't be like that either."

"I know you wouldn't," Will said honestly. "But…I just can't forget all that. As much as I want to."

"Hey, the past is the past. We take the pain and mistakes we've felt and we learn from them." Nagare said. "And we do our best to look forward, knowing that the future is ours to make. There are still so many good people out in the world you haven't met yet."

Getting up, the amber-eyed boy gave a warm smile to Will as he offered her his hand, which made the freckled redhead blush as she gently took it.

"Come on, the party's still young, and we've got plenty of cake."

"Chocolate cake, right?"

"Yep."

Meanwhile, back inside the house, as Irma, Karma, Edgar, and Hay Lin cleaned off some plates, they overheard a radio message on Irma's dad's police radio.

"Hey Tom, it's probably just a prank, but we got a call about some kind of lizard monster at city hall. Can you pop over and check it out?"

"Lizard?" Irma gasped in realization. "If it's that Cedric-guy from Meridian, my dad could get hurt! Get the others!

As the party continued, both Irma's parents sat in their bedroom as Anna Lair sighed.

"I remember when we got to go to all of her little parties."

"Mom, Dad, some of us are going for pizza." Irma suddenly said as she came in. "Could you keep the party going till we get back?"

This caused both parents to look excited.

"Are you kidding?! I'm a par-tah animal!" Tom smiled. "Hey, remember when we gave donkey rides for your fourth birthday?"

He gave playful donkey noises, which only embarrassed Irma.

"Dad, please don't talk me out of this."

"Come on, honey," Tom said to his wife. "Let's show these kids how it's done!"

By the time Irma got back downstairs, Will, Nagare, Karma, Edgar, Taranee, Cornelia, Apollo, Hay Lin, and Fraost had all gathered and were about to head out the door.

"The world had better be in serious danger for me to leave Caleb alone with those girls," Cornelia grumbled as she eyed Elyon and Alchemy jealously.

"Ah, leave him, Corny." Apollo said, his own jealousy flaring as he took her by the hand.

"Well, Reptile sure is a hit at this party," Fraost noted as he saw Reptile chatting with Martin while Bianca hugged onto his bicep.

As the ten teens with attitude left, Caleb and Reptile noticed them leaving the house.

"Where are they going?"

"Pizza." Elyon answered.

"Where's that?" Caleb asked, resulting in the girls laughing, thinking it was just a joke.

Reptile frowned as he and Caleb exchanged a quick glance, realizing this may actually be a Guardian-related emergency.

"Um, you ladies will have to excuse us."

Reptile opened the window and jumped right out of it before running after the ten, Caleb following close behind. Elyon gave a dreamy sigh as she saw this.

"Wrap him up, I'll take him."

"I call dibs on Reptile!" Bianca giggled.

However, Caleb and Reptile weren't the only ones who noticed the girls leaving. Uriah and his gang also saw them.

"Ah man, ten of them together, even that new girl, too perfect. Let's go."

As Caleb and Reptile walked around the house, they spotted Blunk, who had just finished his cake that Fraost and Hay Lin gave him.

"Blunk!" He got the Passling's attention just as he noticed Uriah's gang following the girls. "What's the Creep family up to?"

"Come with us, Blunk. They clearly must be up to no good." Reptile said.

Meanwhile, at the Silver Dragon, Yan Lin was enjoying a cup of tea and taking in the quiet when she heard the sound of soft thunder crackling. She simply smiled as she knew who that belonged to.

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck down before forming into a man wearing predominantly white robes and a blue vest, his face was shadowed by a straw hat, and his eyes glowed with blue electricity.

"Raiden. It is good to see you again, old friend."

"And you as well, Yan Lin." The man said with a warm smile. "I have heard from the Tribunal that the mantle of the Knights has been passed down once more."

Yan Lin chuckled. In her youth, when she was the previous Guardian of Air, her knight was Raiden, a humble farm boy who had been chosen to bear the archetype of the Elementalist. For his many heroic and selfless actions, he was appointed the Lord of Thunder by the Goddess of the Earth, Cetrion, but he still made time to visit his old friends.

"A shame Bo Rai Cho could not join us, as he is still in China, overseeing the White Lotus Society," Raiden said. "It would be nice to get together for old times' sake."

A somber silence filled the air between Raiden and Yan Lin. Back then, Yan Lin was part of a team consisting of Nerissa, Cassidy, Kadma, and Halinor. They were the previous generation of Guardians and were accompanied by the previous generation of Knights, consisting of Raiden, Jerrod, Bo Rai Cho, Hunter, and Praxus Mesh.

They had all been close friends back in the day, but tragedy struck when Hunter entered the realm of Yarnham, which wreaked havoc on his archetype of the Beast and transformed him into an eldritch monstrosity. Thankfully, he still had enough clarity of mind to seal off the realm to protect his friends. This, followed by the tragic loss of Cassidy, led to Nerissa being banished and the teams splitting up.

Bo Rai Cho went to train the White Lotus Society, a group of peacekeeping monks who protected the world in secret. Raiden became a traveling vagabond, helping where he was needed. Jerrod went to the peaceful realm of Edenia since he had fallen in love with their princess, Sindel. Sadly, Jerrod would pass away from a terrible illness years later, after he and Sindel birthed twin daughters, Kitana and Mileena.

Halinor and Praxus married each other and became part of the Council of Kandrakar, keeping watch over the veil between all worlds, and Kadma went to live in the realm of Zambala, even becoming its Queen to watch over the realm.

"I pray that these youths will not make the same mistakes we did." Raiden softly said.

"They will face many powerful foes, not just Phobos." Yan Lin said. "HE has returned as well..."

Raiden's eyes widened, fear filling them for a moment.

"Beo...so the legends of his rise are true. He is merely a shadow of his former self... But I dread he will regain his lost power eventually."

"And the children must be ready." Yan Lin grimly said.

"They will not be alone. They will make powerful allies...and I believe some of them are closer than they think." Raiden assured.

The two sat together in silence, both of them looking forlornly at an old picture on the nearby stand, depicting them in their youth, with the friends they once had.

Will, Irma, Cornelia, Taranee, Hay Lin, Nagare, Karma, Edgar, Apollo, and Fraost arrived at the park as they all sat down on a bench while Hay Lin showed them the map that her grandmother had provided earlier.

"What good is a map if it doesn't show anything?" Will asked.

"Grandma said it was activated by the crystal." Hay Lin replied.

Will took out the Heart of Kandrakar and shone it over the paper. Once she did, a perfect map of the city magically appeared on the paper with four X's glowing at four different areas; three were red and one was blue.

"Hey, that's our school. And the alley behind the mall." Irma said.

"The first two portals!" Taranee realized.

"Uh-oh, there's a third one," Will noted. "Where's this?"

"We're standing in it. It's City Hall Park." Edgar explained.

"Likely the one that Cedric used to cross over into our world." Nagare realized.

The group turned around to see the building that was City Hall. With nothing needing to be said, the ten teens with attitude headed towards the building. They came towards the doors that were broken down, which made Taranee more than a bit nervous.

"Maybe we should call the police?"

"For this kind of problem, we ARE the police," Will stated.

"I was afraid you'd say that." Taranee gulped, but Edgar put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry. If you're nervous, just stay close to me."

"Thanks, Ed," Taranee said with a small smile, feeling somewhat better as the group walked into the building.

Meanwhile, Uriah and his gang snuck in through the building's back door, but Caleb, Reptile, and Blunk spotted them.

"Come on. I promised Cornelia that I wouldn't do anything to the Creep-brothers. But you guys didn't." Caleb told his companions.

Blunk hung his head down, not liking where Caleb was going with this.

"Don't worry. I may have my own plan in mind." Reptile said.

"GUARDIANS UNITE!"

"KNIGHTS RISE!"

Will and Nagare transformed themselves and their friends into their Guardian/Knight forms. The boys all then instinctively struck the Ginyu Force poses from Dragon Ball Z, Nagare doing Ginyu's, Karma doing Jeice's, Edgar doing Burter's, Apollo doing Guldo's, and Fraost doing Recoome's.

"Eh, it's not working..." Apollo said.

"We really should try to be our own things…" Edgar mused.

"You boys will figure it out." Irma chuckled. "Now, who wants fried lizard on their pizza?"

Meanwhile, on the second floor, Cedric and the Enforcers continued to search through the room that contained the birth records of all the people in Heatherfield.

"Any luck?" Kabal asked as he skimmed over some old folders.

"Nada." Erron Black said with a shake of his head.

Cedric let out a growl of frustration and threw a box of papers at the nearby wall. Shao shared in his frustration as he took out his War Axe and sliced a desk in two.

"These are ancient! Hundreds of years old!" Cedric grunted in frustration.

"Indeed. The sister of Phobos is only in her teens." Skarlet said. "We must find more recent records."

Tremor then spotted some boxes behind the open door and went over to pick up some papers, looking through them before his eyes narrowed.

"Comrades, I believe I may have found what we seek."

Cedric hurried over and took the papers from Tremor, glancing over them himself.

Back in the lobby, Cornelia used her Earth powers on a potted plant to extend its roots towards a nearby elevator and pry open the door, while Will used her super strength to kick a stone bench in between the doors to keep it open as the Guardians and Knights flew in.

"Why don't we just take the elevator?" Taranee asked.

"He'll be expecting that!" Karma said. "It's standard movie logic 101!"

Once they made it to the second floor, Nagare took the lead as he spotted an open door. He hung back towards the wall and motioned his hand behind him, quietly telling the others to stay back and keep quiet as he scouted the room. He peeked out the door to find that there was no one inside.

"He's not here."

Everyone went inside, only to see the absolutely wrecked room.

"Geeze, looks worse than my room," Karma muttered as he looked at the mess.

"What was he doing here anyway?" Fraost wondered.

Taranee looked down at a sheet of paper and picked it up as Edgar peeked over her shoulder.

"These are birth records."

Back in the lobby, Caleb, Reptile, and Blunk hid behind a pillar as they saw the trio of bullies, each of them wearing Ghostface masks, looking around for the girls to scare.

"Uh… maybe Blunk too pretty to scare boys." Blunk said.

"Then we'll go with Plan B," Reptile said.

The masked bullies turned around to see Blunk, who tried to act terrifying as he burped and tried to roar, only to cough. Needless to say, Uriah and his gang were far from intimidated.

"Dude, is that like a big green monkey?"

"Blunk not monkey. Also, Blunk have friend!"

Suddenly, Reptile landed behind Blunk in his Zaterran Form and let out a bestial roar, specks of acidic saliva flying from his jaws as the boys screamed in terror and ran away.

"And don't come back!" Blunk said proudly.

"We make quite the team." Reptile chuckled as he turned back to his human form, only to feel a chill run down his spine. "Oh no...that presence...!"

Blunk was confused, only to notice that he and Reptile were not alone as they saw Lord Cedric coming in, glaring at them. However, it was not the giant snake man Reptile was worried about...but his allies.

"Syzoth...we meet again." Shao chuckled as he and Reiko stood together. "To think you managed to escape the obulietes after I personally threw you there."

"General Shao..." Reptile growled as he turned to face the brutish general.

Blunk gulped in terror as he hid behind Reptile, the Enforcers all readying their weapons as they prepared to attack.

"Why would a big snake man be looking through a bunch of old birth records?" Apollo asked as the group skimmed through the records that were tossed everywhere.

"The only thing missing is female birth records from about thirteen years ago," Taranee said.

Suddenly, an inhuman roar echoed throughout the whole building, startling the group.

"Looks like our guest is still in the building," Fraost said as they all ran out.

Reptile had begun engaging the Enforcers in combat, fighting them off as he rapidly switched between Human and Zaterran forms. As for Blunk, he nervously backed up against a pillar as Cedric loomed over him threateningly.

"What are you doing on this side of the veil, Smuggler?"

"Retailer!" Blunk corrected, only to dodge a tail swipe from Cedric.

"Hey, Scale Face!"

Cedric turned around just in time for Caleb to leap on him and try to get the snake man in a chokehold, only for Cedric to slam him against the pillars.

"Caleb!" Cornelia gasped as she and the rest of the gang came back down.

"Everyone! Perfect timing!" Reptile called out as he threw Reiko over his shoulder before combat rolling away from a hammer swing courtesy of Shao.

"Whoa! Friends of yours?!" Karma asked as he noticed the Enforcers.

"Not exactly! They are loyal servants of Phobos!" Reptile explained before turning into his Zaterran Form to shrug off bullet fire from Erron Black. "There is Shao, the leading general of his army, and his lieutenant, Reiko. Then there's the bounty hunter Erron Black, the blood mage Skarlet, the assassin Kabal, and the Earth Elemental, Tremor."

"Hey, Earth is my thing!" Cornelia said as Tremor scoffed.

"My power may not be on the same wavelength as a Guardian, but I am one with the rock and stone!"

"Time the Guardians and the Knights learned a lesson in humility!" Cedric snarled.

The Enforcers all rushed forward, each of the Knights taking one of them. Nagare engulfed his fist in electricity and punched at Shao, who swung his War Axe as it clashed against the boy's fist, a shockwave of lightning emitting from the impact.

Karma felt a power well inside him before donning heavy knight armor, coupled with a spiked morning star mace and shield combo. Erron Black twirled out his revolvers and began opening fire as Karma held his shield out and charged toward the cowboy bounty hunter.

Kabal began running in super-fast circles around Edgar, who tried to follow his movements before taking a deep breath and slamming his palms into the ground, transmuting the surrounding floor into a large circular barrier that launched Kabal off his footing.

Skarlet cut her palm with one of her kunai and drew blood to form it into a massive scythe. Apollo let out a fierce howl as he turned into a werewolf-like beast and lunged forward.

Reiko took a fighting stance against Fraost, who breathed deeply and got into a Tai Chi stance as spirit energy wafted off of him, which Reiko noticed with a smirk.

"The Archetype of the Spirit...yes, I have dreamed of fighting a warrior like you!"

With that, the two began trading punches and kicks, Fraost empowering himself with spirit energy while Reiko seemed to emit a blood red aura of his own, which amplified and extended his strikes.

Finally, Reptile was face-to-face with Shao, who switched between his Wrath Hammer and War Axe as he tried to strike down the Zaterran Warrior.

"I made the mistake of letting you live last time!" Shao sneered. "This time, I will make sure you die a glorious death in battle!"

"I am not prepared to die just yet!" Reptile snarled as he sprouted his tail while still in human form and swung it at his foe.

Cedric was facing off against the Guardians personally. Hay Lin quickly used her Air powers to blow a large rug toward him, blinding him as he growled and struggled to get it off.

"A little this way!" Taranee called out as she flew up to the chandelier.

Cornelia and Irma nodded as the former slammed her palm down to crack the ground and pummel Cedric with a hail of debris while also upturning the sewer pipes. Irma then used her Water powers to burst the pipes and send a torrent of water at Cedric that knocked him to the floor.

Taranee, seeing her chance, ignited her hand with fire and used it to cut the chandelier loose from its moorings, sending it crashing down on the snake man. Unfortunately, that only served to anger him further as he picked himself up and swung his tail, knocking Hay Lin and Irma away.

Will and Caleb picked up a nearby bench and charged forward, throwing it at Cedric as he merely smacked it aside and struck them with another swipe of his tail. Taranee jumped down and shot a fireball at Cedric to cover them, but his tough hide allowed him to shrug it off as the girls and Caleb cleared some distance.

Karma had swapped out what he was now calling his Fortress Armor for a more lightweight and speedy armor, which he dubbed Speed Armor, brandishing lightweight short swords as he clashed with Erron Black's own katana, the bounty hunter showing surprising skill with it.

"A gun is the best defense, but I'm a flexible guy."

"You're pretty chill for a villain. Why side with these bozos?" Karma asked.

"Because the pay is great!" Kabal called out while fighting Edgar, who had transmuted one of the pillars to shoot out a giant fist at the speedster.

Tremor had joined Skarlet in attacking Apollo, who found himself almost overwhelmed as Tremor hardened his arms with layers of hardened stone to make his punches hit harder while Skarlet sent out small daggers of blood at him. The boy, still in his Werewolf Form, was doing all he could just to dodge.

Cedric angrily threw a desk at the Guardians and Caleb, but Cornelia used her powers to hold it in the air before breaking it into pieces. With a scowl, Cedric noticed the dropped papers and picked them up.

"We have what we came for. We shall meet again."

Shao grunted in frustration as Reptile knocked him away with his tail. The general was about to resume the fight before hearing Cedric's words and growling in annoyance as he raised a fist, signaling his fellow Enforcers to retreat.

"It seems you've earned a reprieve," Reiko said as he and Fraost broke their stalemate. "Get stronger. I look forward to facing you again."

"For someone working with Phobos, you conduct honor in the way you fight," Fraost noted. "I don't like fighting, but I guess for you, I'll make the exception."

Apollo let out a deep breath he had been holding in as Tremor and Skarlet backed away from him, while Kabal and Erron Black moved back to join their allies. With that, the villains retreated as the heroes relaxed and assessed the damage around them.

"Uh...neatness doesn't count, does it?" Karma asked nervously.

Back in Meridian, Cedric and the Enforcers returned to the castle, where Phobos was waiting on the balcony as he raised his arm and let a falcon perch on it.

"We have the earth papers that will help us locate your sister." Cedric said.

Phobos couldn't help but chuckle as Velhallen Beo manifested from his shoulder in the form of a dark cloud of shadows with glowing red eyes and a wicked grin full of sharp teeth.

"Time to start planning a family reunion..."

After closing up the portal and turning back to normal, the gang decided to head back to Irma's house while carrying plenty of pizza.

"Birth certificates for girls close to our age..." Will noted. "Is Phobos looking for US?"

"Well, he did want the Heart of Kandrakar from you." Nagare pointed out.

"Unlikely." Reptile shook his head. "He is undoubtedly looking for the true heir to Meridian."

"Well, I don't see what good birth records are gonna do since the heir wasn't born here," Apollo said.

"Phobos could use the list to narrow down the search; identify those that were born in Heatherfield to those who were not." Edgar assumed.

"Which would mean that Phobos has already got a head-start on us." Taranee said.

"Why not use the internet?" Karma suggested.

"That might not help us much. Without knowing who the heir looks like, we have no idea who to look for." Fraost pointed out.

"Caleb, you got any ideas?" Will asked.

"No clue." The rebel leader said honestly. "She wasn't even named when she was rescued from her brother."

"We'll worry about that later." Hay Lin said, trying to cheer everyone up. "We got a party to get back to!"

Irma sighed. "My parents have been ruining my party for an hour. I hope you guys like pizza, because there won't be anybody in my house left to eat it."

Hay Lin was the first to make it back as she saw something that made her look in elated surprise.

"Well, you're right, they're not IN your house."

A huge smile formed on Irma's face to see the party going on, maybe even better than before, as her mother led all the kids outside on a conga line.

"Come on, limbo is next!"

"Hey, we brought pizza!" Karma called out.

"Well, you know what they say, parents really are the life of the party." Edgar chuckled with a smile.

"Whooo! Conga Time in Oz!" Apollo cheered as he and Hay Lin joined the line.

Will honestly couldn't help but smile, seeing everyone just having fun together as Irma playfully slung an arm over her shoulder.

"Happy 15th Birthday, Pink-Poopy-Perky-Pumpkin."

"You know what would be really a great gift?" Will smirked. "You never saying that again."

"What's that, Poopy?"

"You heard me….Sir Element."

Nagare smirked

"Oh, so I AM a sir now, eh?"

He then bowed

"Well then, milady, I pray you find favor in me,"

Will chuckled and forced him up.

"Don't push it; you're not nearly dashing enough."

Nagare pouted at that.

"Just date already!" Karma and Irma said together, delighting when they blushed.