((Got the idea off of the elemental stories of this archive. I can't credit everyone, but I guess you'll be able to tell.))

The shadowy figure arose from the arid sand of the Elmore Desert. "It is my time," The creature said, a soft burr in its voice. A crooked staff formed from the shadow, and sent it flying. A shadow formed over the small town of Elmore, though to most it seemed to be some clouds. But one person knew it meant something else.

Nicole strode into the dim house, her cat eyes giving her a vantage point. The soft- No, that was an understatement- The roar of a snore erupted from the couch. Richard was sleeping, as always. Nicole sighed. Her cat feet padded up the stairs, the carpet soft and helping her silence. She entered the small room with the window that was her older children's room. Gumball and Darwin were surfing the web, and as Gumball gave a long winded explanation of a video to Darwin, Nicole cleared her throat. "Boys, I need to show you something." Gumball tilted his head, his mouth opening. But not wanting to make her furious, he simply closed his mouth and followed suit in her padding footsteps. She led them to a simple closet that they passed constantly in their misadventures. She knocked carefully and with rhythm on the door, and a small handle slid from a compartment.

Grabbing the handle, the old closet was not there, but a simple hallway had taken its place. She waved her hand in a motion for the boys to follow. She slid open a trapdoor, hard to see because it had the same carpeting as the rest of the carpeting in the hallway on it. She climbed down the ladder and the boys, unsurely followed suit. There was a simple room. In the center was a metal chest which had a number lock on it. Gumball's mother pressed the buttons 1-9-8-3. Gumball realized dad had mentioned that multiple times before.

The chest opened with a squeak of rusted metal and inside laid four staffs. Gumball tilted his head, examining them. They were like those of a shepherds, although in the middle of them was a floating crystal. Red, blue, green and white. "These, my sons, are family heirlooms. They wield great power, but require training. You all have a correspondence with these, although currently I wield the one which Gumball will wield." Nicole said, her soft paw barely touching the staffs. "Gumball you take my fiery personality. You can be calm, but you can quickly become dangerous if prodded. Darwin, you are like the earth. You are giving, kind, but if hurt or misused, can crush your opponents. Anais is water. Cool, calm, yet mysterious. She already knows of these," Nicole noted, just as Gumball raised his finger to ask a question. "A great power I have not seen in quite some time has revealed itself this day. I must leave you boys and fight it. I will be forced to use this staff," Nicole continued, pointing to a more scythe like staff, "Because it has the power of light. I have only wielded it once before, for it is only used in an emergency." Gumball stared at his mother, and opened his mouth, brow furrowed. "Mom, why have you never told us this? I mean, I would want to know if you were a cool evil fighting superhero." Gumball said, waving his hands for dramatic effect. "Not a superhero, Gumball, but a Guardian of Elmore." His mother replied, looking down at the staffs once more. "Your ancestor was give these by the great spirits. He has kept them safe for years, passing them down from one child to the next. And now, I give you these, because I must fight the evil. I will likely die, but I will keep him at bay." His mother finished. She grabbed the scythed staff. She then looked at her sons. "Take your staff." She calmly said to them, and Darwin walked towards the green staff. Gumball hesitated, taking a deep breath. He grabbed his staff. The instant they grabbed their staves, they fired off energy. A rock spike stuck from the wall where Darwin had hit, while Gumball had burnt the metal. It was now red and a little liquid was leaking off. "I should have known. You boys need practice. Your father will teach you. I must go now." Gumball turned to his mother, who had just finished speaking, and said, "One, who will wield the last staff, and two, I thought dad was a lazy old sod who can't do anything but whine." A voice calmly said, "I only had to act like it. You see, Gumball, I had to act like that because you could not know. Your mother, she is a bit harder to control. Remember how she reached her limit?" Gumball turned and jumped, seeing his father. "And to answer your other question, Lexy is the final key." Gumball asked, "Key to what? I don't understand." But his mother simply left the room.

Nicole felt the power of the staff coursing through her. She flung herself in the air, flying towards the near-to-the-town shadow. It laughed. "My old nemesis, Nicole. It will be good to have a challenge, but you will not beat me this time." The shadow flung a whip of shadow at Nicole, whom managed to deflect it. He flew at the shadow, turning a 360 and shooting a beam of light at the Shadow. The shadow dodged it, laughing mischievously. He jumped and did a flip, hovering back into his position and flinging multiple beams of shadow at Nicole. Nicole tried to deflect them, but try as she might, she couldn't. The beams hit her, and unexpectedly, she began to shake. She exploded in a flash of light, hitting the shadow and flinging him back into the sand. It would take five years for him to escape.