Prologue
15 Guardians protected Earth and Dream World. The Dream World was connected to Earth by the peace and balance of each of them. In this world, they did not age anymore and were stuck in their early twenties looks. Each Guardian was given a specific elemental power (lightning, air, fire, water, earth) and a secondary power (telekinesis, weather control, telepathy, mind control, and healing). Three of the fifteen have all the elemental powers and known as Guardiankeepers. Jen, Kenny, and Kylie were the special ones. There used to be certain teams such as Kylie's team and Jen's first and second team. But they do not apply anymore and are just known as Guardians. The Guardians lived in Area 5 together where no other people besides them dwelled in because it was an unknown area. The Natives of the Dream World all know about the Guardians and their story but did not want to bother them in their private lives.
For simplicity sakes, pretend that the Guardians were still in teams. Each team consisted of one girl and four boys who represented one element. The leader who was the girl was given a crystal called the Heart that gave them the power to transform. It was a necklace which was different to each team. Since the Guardians no longer have to transform to fight, it acted as an ultimate weapon. There were the Silent Creek Heart, Meridian Heart, and Kandrakar Heart. The last one went inside Jen's body so now her she is constantly fueled with its power. Kenny also has a Heart inside of him but it was dark Heart given by Phobos, the Guardian's long time enemy. Kylie's team consisted of Jacob, Austin, Dennis, and Kyle. Jen's first team had Nick, Will, Packard, and Sam. Her second team included Alan, Peter, Rishuv, and KK. After the team title no longer applied, Kylie was pronounced the Princess of the Dream World. The Natives were informed about this as well. Nothing majorly changed for Kylie; it was another way of saying that she was the leader of the Guardians.
Now the Guardians will compete in the Grand Bending Games to test their abilities against the Natives. They will meet friends and foes, while unraveling the mystery of D.J.S., a demon that could destroy the two worlds.
Opening song: Breakthrough by GOING UNDER GROUND (Fairy Tail Opening 13)
Chapter 1: Anniversary
October 26.
20 years have passed since the Guardians defeated Phobos in the Dream World for the first time and decided to live the rest of their lives there. Not too long after that, Jen went on her own adventure to recover her skills and powers. She met a former Guardian named Kenny who trained her. Both of them were Guardiankeepers and had a crystal inside of them which gave them extra power. They also met a small, talking robot named Giru who contained the spirits of some former Guardians. After the 20 years and the sealing of Phobos for the second time, the two returned to Area 5. Peter and Kylie were married, and Kenny and Jen still had hope for each other. However, before Jen left, she and Nick were together since they were little. It devastated him when she broke up with him and found someone else. Nonetheless, all of the Guardians were reunited again.
Few days afterwards, Kaitlin, Peter's and Kylie's daughter, and Isabelle, the daughter of Jen and Kenny, came from the future. Some of the Guardians achieved Dragon Slayer Magic from the villains of the Nightmarium book. The ones who battled with the Daughters of Darkness had visions of them being friends with each other. It gave them motivation to discover the secrets of their origin. In the end, Isabelle was rescued and Phobos was unsummoned by a mysterious guy named Lewis. He claimed to be the Prince of Mars and told Kylie that she was the Princess of Earth. He was more powerful than the Guardians' strongest convergence spell. He was also said to be a Fire God Slayer. Fortunately, he did not kill anyone because something had held him back; however, he was still a foe. His mission was to kill Kylie so they can replace the Princess of Earth. No one was going to let him do that.
A day has passed since they saw Prince Lewis. Kaitlin and Isabelle immediately left to go back to the future. The Guardians still ponder about their visions and new power. Some were a bit jealous that they did not earn dragon slayer magic. Kylie, Peter, Kenny, Nick, Will, Sam, and Packard all have the new magic, even Kaitlin and Isabelle in the future. Jen went through the same process in achieving the magic but her crystal Heart did not allow her to use it yet for some reason. Although the Guardians wanted to research on their past, they still have the Grand Bending Games coming up in a year. Jen offered the idea in joining and seeing where they stood against the Natives of the Dream World. Obviously the Guardians were special since they have secondary powers and the ability to make portal gates for enemies to imprison in. They weren't sure if others have crystals like they did, but they assumed not.
Although Jen and Kylie have a secondary power of controlling the weather, they still kept the four seasons. The leaves on the tree have changed colors and, some have started to fall. The 15 Guardians all remember this day to be the anniversary of their new lives. They would celebrate by shooting fireworks and having a small party all at night.
However, Nick had something else on his mind. He was tall and skinny with short dark blonde hair. The anniversary of their new lives was the same day as Nick's and Jen's anniversary of when they first dated. Every year they would give or do something nice to each other. But they have not done anything for 20 years about it. Even though they were not together anymore, he still liked her and wanted to keep the tradition. He would not be surprised if she did not come up with anything because they were not dating.
In the morning, Nick decided to bake something for her. He was a decent cook and knew that Jen liked sweets. He also wanted to make the treat homemade so she knew that he created just for her. Looking through the recipes, he decided to make a small chocolate cake for her. Nick had never made a cake before but it was worth a shot. The ingredients and cooking supplies were laid on the table. First, he measured the amount of flour, eggs, milk, water, and oil. He added the flour into the bowl before the others. Then he mixed it until it frothed. But it was taking a really long time for him for some reason. (Putting the other ingredients before the flour makes it much easier to mix).
He stopped mixing and set the bowl down. "I can cook light meals for lunch and dinner, but I can't even mix a batter. Good thing Jen isn't here to see this." Nick's secondary power was telekinesis, while his primary one is air. Therefore, he equally used both of his powers to finish the mix and the rest of the steps. However, he was overdoing it, not a little, but a lot. The kitchen was a mess and partly worn off from the air blasts.
Not too far from him, Sam and Packard were walking outside. They were twin brothers with black hair, average height, and light skin. Packard had glasses, while Sam was more muscular. Sam was a earth dragon slayer, and Packard was a water dragon slayer. As an earthbender, Sam can sense disturbances from the earth ground. He felt something going on in the kitchen so the two went to check it out.
Nick had already finished baking the cake and set it on the table. Sam sensed that Nick was there in the kitchen so he rushed over there with Packard.
Sam opened the door rapidly. "Nick! Are you –" he looked at the cake next to him then around the place. It was definitely looked like a bomb went off.
Packard shouted, "What did you do?!"
"I may have been a bit overboard with the cake for Jen."
The two walked over and saw a normal looking chocolate cake. "Didn't you guys break up a long time ago?" Packard asked.
"Yeah… but that doesn't mean I can't be nice to her. It is our anniversary and I want to keep the tradition. Since she's back, it'll feel weird if I don't keep it up."
Sam and Packard were a bit hesitant to his response. "Okay, whatever," Sam said. He used a finger to swipe some icing on it. Once he tasted it, Sam made a face as if he tasted something awful. "Is that dark chocolate or what?!" He quickly grabbed some water for his mouth.
"No, but I may have added more cocoa or chocolate than I needed."
Packard gave took a small piece of the cake and gave the same expression. "If you're trying to show your feelings of the break-up note that she gave you, then you can definitely give her this."
Nick felt really disappointed in himself. How could he fail at making a cake, he thought. Packard suggested something else to him, "Maybe give her something else besides food. Go ask Kylie for any ideas, since they are practically sisters."
"You're right. I'll go do that," Nick said, "But after I clean up this place. Do you still want the cake?"
"No way!" both of them yelled, emphasizing each word. They left him in the room to clean up.
After Nick cleaned up the kitchen and threw away the cake, he went to look for Kylie. She would usually be training with Peter in one of the training rooms, so he looked around there. Luckily, he quickly found the two.
"Hey Kylie and Peter!" he greeted. They did the same back.
"What's up?" she asked.
"Today is Jen and my anniversary, and I know we're not together anymore but I still want to give her something as an act of kindness."
"That's sweet," Peter said.
"I don't want to give her flowers or chocolates but something more unique for her."
Kylie thought for moment, "She really likes the animes Fairy Tail and Dragon Ball Z."
"I don't want them. Anything specific parts she likes from them?"
"Her favorite character from DBZ is Future Trunks and from Fairy Tail is Loke. I haven't watched Fairy Tail yet but Future Trunks is a guy with a sword on his back. Maybe give her merchandise from one of the animes?"
"Yeah that's a good idea. Thanks!"
"No prob!" Nick left the room and flew to his room. He researched who Future Trunks was like and learned a basic gist of him. Then he thought of the perfect gift. He would give her a sword with its sheath belt to wear across the chest and onto the back. She was practicing swordsmanship anyways and was using her own elements to spawn one. Why not have a real one to cosplay with?
He looked up where to buy one of Future Trunks' sword but no one were selling them for some reason. But he did find a different one that still looked really cool. It was a katana with green jagged design on the edge. It was from a game called Overwatch and the sword was from a hero named Genji. Nick had no idea if Jen knew about this game. But he still wanted to buy it for her. Fortunately, he can buy it somewhere nearby at a cosplay store. Money was not an issue to the Guradians.
During the afternoon, Nick had already bought the katana. It came with a sheath and belt like Future Trunks' but it was not a real one and just made out of plastic. He had an idea of using one of the crystals to power it up and make it real and special. But he needed Kylie's permission first. Since it was not a major deal, Kylie allowed him. She even thought that it would be cool to try. She went with him to the crystal tower that held the two Hearts. Choosing at random, she chose the Heart of Meridian and extracted some energy from it. The crystal would regenerate its own power eventually.
Afterwards, the katana was real and shinier than before. Nick swung it diagonally, and it made a glowing green effect. "Perfect! Thanks a bunch, Kylie."
"Your welcome," she smiled. "I bet she'll love it."
"Do you know where she is?"
"No, haven't seen her around today. Maybe in her room?"
"I'll see. See ya!" They left the tower and Nick walked to Jen's room.
He could see the trees changing to half of a different shade and the small piles of leaves on the ground. Along the path, he met across Kenny. The two still did not get along with each other well because Jen liked him instead of Nick.
"Kenny," he called out.
"Nick." They paused for a brief moment. "Is that a sword?"
"Yeah, it's a katana. It's a gift for Jen."
Kenny raised an eyebrow, "Oh really. Well, she's not in her room if that's who you're trying to find." He did not mind the gift but did mind Nick bothering her today.
"Is that so? Well, then I'll just find her around here then. Good-bye." He speed walked past Kenny who did not stop him right away. Kenny wanted to warn him about something but he decided that he will learn it the hard way.
Nick can just imagine how Jen would react to the gift. She's usually a kind and sweet person when it comes to gifts, especially unexpected ones. After 10 more minutes of walking around, Nick found Jen walking towards his direction at a park.
"Jen!" he ran to her. They stopped next to a bench and lamppost. "I've looked all over for you. Whatcha' doing?"
Jen was surprised to know that he was trying to find her. But she tried to keep a straight face. "Just wandering around alone the whole day."
Nick held out the katana. "This is for you. It's not exactly Future Trunks' sword but it's still really cool looking."
She glanced at it and said, "I don't need it but thanks." She stared to walk past him but he stopped her.
Nick did not expect that from her at all. "Wait, it was powered by the Heart of Meridian though. It's not just some plastic sword."
"You know I can summon swords using my own powers, right? Having that on my back will just get in the way."
"You can just use it for sparring times."
"Thanks but no thanks. Sorry." She turned around with her back facing him. Nick looked sad from her response.
"But Jen… Today is our anniversary." Jen opened her eyes widely. She had almost forgotten about it, mainly because they were not together anymore.
She calmed herself and replied, "We're not dating anymore so you don't have to give me gifts."
"I still want to be nice. It's also the day when we started our new lives here."
Jen did not look back and said, "I'm sorry." Then she walked away from him. Nick stood still in disbelief, while Kenny, who saw everything, walked into him again.
Nick looked behind and glanced at him, "What do you want?"
"Do you want to know why she's acting this way?" Nick paid more attention. "Although it's the day when you guys started your new lives here and you two's 'anniversary,' it so happens to be the same day that Jen was poisoned and had almost died."
Nick remembered that time. When Kenny was on the dark side, he poisoned Jen's body while in the Guardian state so Phobos could stop the Guardian cycle. Though she survived, it crippled her physically and mentally for a while. She had to start all over in using her powers.
Kenny continued to explain, "She still has nightmares of what could have happened that day. I'm even trying to stay away from her for today because I was the one who poisoned her. So just try to leave her alone." He walked away, leaving Nick guilty. But now Nick understood and planned on going back to his room. He left the katana on the bench and walked back.
Nick managed to walk past Kylie who was done with her sparring.
"Hey Nick. Did Jen like your gift?"
He hesitated, "No, but she had something else in mind."
Kylie was confused, "Huh?"
"You remember when Jen almost died again, and her body ended up all weak?" Jen did have another fatal situation before, except no one but herself knew that she did not die that time but was in a coma.
"Yeah, of course." Then she realized. "Oh! It was the same day…"
"Yep. I almost forgot until Kenny told me."
"Sorry for not reminding you. I had forgotten about it as well."
"It's not your fault."
"Where's the gift now?"
"I left it where we met. She'll probably take it when she's feeling better."
"Hopefully soon."
"Yeah, see ya."
"Bye." They both left in opposite directions.
As Jen continued to walk around, she looked up at the partly cloudy sky. She knew that she could have been nicer to Nick with the gift, but her nightmares kept consuming her mind the entire day. She did move on about that day long time back which abled her to use her powers more skillfully. But the flashbacks came back again.
Now, she thought of how rude she was towards Nick. It was any other day, she would have loved it. The realization of her selfishness made her run back to where she met up with Nick. She saw the sword still on the bench and put the belt on across her chest. She drew out the sword and noticed that it was Genji's katana.
Surprised, she said, "This is Genji's sword from Overwatch. How did he know that he was my favorite character from it?" She felt the sword having the same power as in the game.
Jen put the sword back and started to walk back to her room. She did notice someone walking near her but kept her head down. It happened to be Kylie who saw her with the sword on the back. Kylie smiled at her and continued walking as well.
That night, Kylie announced that there would be a meeting soon. So they gathered at the round table and waited for everyone else. Nick saw Jen wear his gift and was relieved. It was also the first time that day did he see her smile.
"Hey Jen!"
"Heyo. Sorry I was being mean to you earlier."
"No, I'm sorry that I forgot what happened to you on this day."
"It's alright. I was being selfish for just thinking about me. But I do love your gift. I did not plan anything for you though, and it's already so late."
"It's fine. You don't have to."
But Jen really did want to repay him. "Tell you what. I'll use this during the Grand Bending Games."
He was shocked, "Really? But I bet your powers are far stronger than it."
"I still want to try it out." Nick could not resist the smile that she had on her face. So they agreed and forgave each other. Afterwards, everyone had arrived, and Kylie started the meeting.
