Hello everybody! This is my first story on this site! I'm so excited to finally publish this story; it's been in my notebook for months! Before begin, I would like to inform anyone reading this that the two lead protagonists are an OC of mine and Kludd. I originally planned this to be a story based on Kludd and Nyra, since they're my favorite pairing, but for some reason Nyra just wasn't working for me. I finally realized it was because I wanted Kludd with my OC, and not her. I'm not sure, though, if Kludd will end up with my OC or Nyra in the end, or if he'll end up with anyone in the end. I create the story, but ultimately the story decides what happens. I'm crossing my fingers, hoping that my OC will get Kludd, whom is my favorite character. Only one way to find out: Onwards with the story!

Chapter 1: When One Legend Ends, Another Begins.

As it was in the old ages, so it was in the new. The Guardians upheld their oath that night. They made strong the weak, and mended the broken, and when the sun shone again that morning, all could see that they had vanquished the evil.

With the peace restored, it was a time for celebration and recognition for our small band of owls, who fate and a storm had blown into the Tree now stood before its king and queen as young Guardians. Ready finally, with all their hearts, to take that ancient oath: To mend those who are broken, to make strong the weak, and, without hesitation, vanquish the evil.

For as we know, Nyra escaped. And Kludd? Well, Kludd was never found...

The End

"Wait, what?" Gia turned the page, but all that was there was the author's note. That's it? She turned a few more pages, only to see the character pictures at the back of the book. She closed the book, staring at its cover with a feeling of disbelief, almost betrayal. No, that can't be it... Moments passed as she stared at the book, trying to will the story to go on. After who knows how many minutes, maybe five, she finally sighed. But what happens to...?

"Gia!" A sing-song voiced called, "Oh, Gia!"

Gia looked up. An older, larger owl poked her head in through the hollow's entrance. She pulled back the hood of her cloak, revealing her dirt streaked face. That and her mud colored wings gave her the appearance of a Sooty Owl, but Gia knew that behind that dusty disguise there was a beautiful golden feathered owl.

"Auntie Angie!" Gia set her book aside and bounced over to hug her aunt. "How was work?"

"Rather slow tonight. A nice break from the regular hustle and bustle." Angela hung her cloak up, then turned to Gia to show her a basket she had been carrying. "I brought mangoes. This will go lovely with that left-over mouse from last night."

Gia smiled proudly at her aunt, whom was the librarian of the Silverveil Library. Silverveil was the lush green jungle where they lived. Being tropical owls, it was the perfect place for them with the abundance of fruit and warm weather. Once a moon cycle, the library would get a delivery of new books. Angela always brought back a stack of the new books so that Gia could read them first. The last book from the latest stack Angela had given her was "The Legend Of The Guardians: The Owls Of Ga'Hoole", the book Gia had just finished.

Gia picked up said book while her aunt busied herself with making dinner. "Auntie?" She asked as she looked through the book once more, "What happened to the brother in my book? Kludd?"

"Kludd?" Angela said, sounding rather surprised that she would bring up such a character, "Far as I know, the book said he was never found."

"And that's it?"

"That's it." Angela grabbed a wooden knife and started chopping up the mangoes.

Gia looked down at her book. She opened it to the character pictures in the back. She searched through them until her eyes landed on the one labeled "Kludd: The Rival Brother". He didn't look too happy in his picture, with a scarred face and a bleak background. The description next to his picture described him as a "traitor", who "neither had a heart nor a gizzard." This picture was her absolute favorite, probably because he was her favorite character.

She had to know more. She wouldn't be able to sleep until she had at least some answers. One does not just simply die in a fire and disappear from the entire book when you're an important character to the story. "Okay, so what do you mean by he was never found?" Gia looked back up at her Auntie.

"He probably died, honey. If you ask me, though, the little brat deserved it. All Pure Ones are going to end up dying in a fire eventually." Angela seemed to huff, and brought down her knife a little more harshly than before on the poor mango. Angela didn't hate many things, but she despised the Pure Ones, and with good reason.

The Pure Ones had been terrorizing the Owl Kingdoms for centuries, but for quite a long time they seemed to be nothing more than a story. That was until the Guardians of Ga'Hoole, protectors of the Owl Kingdoms, discovered them hiding in the Canyon Lands. Three years ago, when Gia was fifteen, the Pure Ones had been found to be kidnapping and moonblinking owlets, which was a way to hypnotize them by using the light of the moon, effectively turning them into slaves. Thanks to the help of Soren, a young Barn Owl who was the protagonist of the story, and his Band of owl friends, the Guardians were able to defeat the Pure Ones and cure the moonblinked owlets. Unfortunately, Soren's older brother, Kludd, had become a Pure One and assumably died when he fell into a fire, but no owl seemed to care much anyway.

Gia traced the picture of Kludd's face with her talon. He had been her favorite character. Everyowl called him a vicious and evil owl, a backstabbing turnfeather to his own family. She studied his face, to the point of straining her eyes, but she still couldn't see anything "evil" about him. From her perspective, all she could see was a boy with a lot potential, determination, bravery, and an adorable mohawk.

"Does anyowl miss Kludd?" Gia tried to ask her aunt again.

Angela was now paying only half of her attention to her while she finished cutting the last of the mangoes. "Of course not. He's a Pure One, or was a Pure One, that is."

"What does that mean?"

"That means..." Angela sighed. Couldn't her niece choose to talk about something else? Something important? "That means he's evil. All Pure Ones are evil. Simple as that."

"But what if it wasn't so simple?" Gia persisted. "What if the Pure Ones thought that they were the good guys? What if they had good hearts and good intentions? What if they were good?"

Angela's knife came down a lot harder than she intended it to with that last word. Juices from the mango splattered on her face, but she did not blink. She stood there frozen for a moment, then quickly wiped her face with a cloth before turning to her niece. Her eyes were burning, and not just from the juice.

Uh oh... Gia shrunk back, attempting to hide behind her book.

"Gia..." her aunt began slowly, approaching her, "The Pure ones are evil. Anyone who joins them immediately becomes evil. They have always been evil, and they will forever stay evil. Do you understand what I'm... Gia? Gia?"

For as much emphasis as Angela put into the word "evil", Gia didn't hear the word once. All she heard was "forever stay". Slowly the realization of the words came to her, until it hit her like a surprise hatchday party.

"Gia!" Angela began snapping her talons in front of her niece's face.

Gia blinked and took a step back. She had blanked out for a second there. "Forever stay... " she mumbled," Wait, you mean the Pure Ones are still alive?" A smile spread across her beak. "The Pure Ones are still alive!" Now she was talking mostly to herself. She glanced back down at her book, the idea making her almost dizzy.

"You're missing the point!" Angela had to stop herself from shrieking. With a deep breath first, she continued, "Have you forgotten what the Pure Ones have done? They are horrible, nasty, file creatures that only know how to kill. Kill in the most horrible of ways. I know I tell you not to hate others, but I'm more than willing to make an exception in this case. Feel free to hate their gizzards, my dear."

"Are they really that bad, Auntie?" Gia peeked out from behind her book.

Angela leaned in, so that her face was only inches from hers. "They're not that bad," she said, "They're worse." She narrowed her eyes. "We will not speak of the Pure Ones again. Ever. Are we clear?"

Gia slowly nodded her head, unable to speak. Or blink. Or breathe.

Angela relaxed, backing up and taking a deep breath. She switched her glare to a loving gaze, and patted her niece on the head. "That's my girl. Remember, darling, it's a dangerous world out there, especially for-"

"A Tyto aurantia, a Golden Masked Owl. I know, Auntie..." Gia let her eyes fall back to the book again. "I know.."

Gia definitely did know. Ever since she could remember, her aunt had told her stories of their kind, the Golden Masked Owls. Golden Masked Owls were rare species of Tyto Owls, so rare that Gia has never met any other one besides Auntie. The feathers of a Golden Masked Owl was just as the name indicates: golden, and very beautiful. It was because of this rare beauty that Gia's parents, along with countless others, had been killed. Tyto aurantias have been hunted down and slaughtered for generations so that their feathers could be made into fancy hats and decorations. There were even rumors that some birds ate Golden Masked Owls because they believed that it would give them magical powers.

It was because of this reason that Angela had kept her hidden in their home tree for so many years, almost all her life. Ever since Auntie had taken her in, Gia had never left the hollow, except for standing right outside its opening, but even that was limited. She was eighteen years old and she has never flown, or even gone branching, while most owlets her age were soaring through the skies, at least that's what her books on teenaged owls told her.

Angela turned to her. "I'm going to go wash up now. I want this place nice and clean when I'm done, then we'll eat." With that, Angela patted her head one more time before flying out of the hollow.

Gia glanced around the hollow, smiling at the piles of books, owlipoppens(that's an owl doll), and other things littered everywhere. She had gotten into the habit of purposely making a mess so she could pass the time cleaning it up. Besides, she enjoyed putting things away.

After every little bit was in its place, she went outside to water the plants. She stepped out onto the branch, stopping near the spot her aunt had taught her to. Down below on the ground, she could see her aunt washing the mud off her wings, which was her disguise whenever she left home. Gia sighed and lifted her water bottle up to a hanging flower pot. The ground... She had never touched the ground before. She wondered what it would feel like. She was sure that grass would feel different than dirt, or maybe she was wrong and it felt the same. And what about flying? What would it feel like to have nothing but air beneath your talons?

In the mist of her nightdream, she heard her aunt singing.

We have fallen down again tonight

In this world it's hard to get it right

Trying to make your heart fit like a glove

What it needs is love, love, love

Her aunt's voice was carried up through the wind and to Gia. She smiled. It was as if all her problems were being whisked away with the song. Holding the water bottle close, she closed her eyes and enjoyed the music. Auntie's voice was like silk, drowning out everything but the lyrics to the song.

Everybody, everybody wants to love

Everybody, everybody wants to be loved

Oh, oh, oh

Oh, oh, oh

Gia hummed the rest of the song while she watered the other flowers. When each of the potted plants had its fill, she placed the water bottle away. She stood there and inhaled. There was a nice breeze tonight, even if it was broken up by all the branches by the time it reached her. Oh, what she would give to move to the outer branches and truly feel the wind in her feathers.

She looked up, and through the leaves she could see the moon setting, readying for the sun to take its place. Pinkish gold peeked out from beyond the horizon, making her wonder just how far one owl could fly. Was there an end to the adventures that heroes like in her books faced? What mysteries were lying out there in the world, waiting to be discovered?

The wind suddenly picked up, causing some of the flowers from her Earleaf Tree to blow off. One flower in particular landed on her branch, so she decided to pick it up. The flowers her tree made were beautiful to her, small and bright yellow, and they brought the sweetest scent. Just for the heck of it, she wove it through her head feathers. The wind grew stronger, blowing off more flowers. The flowers drifted away in the direction of the wind, the rising sun's rays shining through them. The dawn made the flowers shine so bright, it was as if they came from the sun.

She yawned. Daytime was when owls like her slept, and the scene was making her drowsy.

"Keep night dreaming like that and your going to fall asleep." Auntie's teasing voice entered her mind as she landed next to her. Gia blinked and rubbed her eyes, trying to find her way back to reality.

"Huh?" She saw her aunt and smiled. "Oh, Auntie! You look beautiful!"

Now clean and dirt free, her aunt looked like a true Golden Masked Owl. Gia bared a great resemblance with her aunt, only her aunt's feathers were darker and had more speckles.

"Now, come on inside, sweetie." Angela hopped onto the hollow's ledge, then smiled at her before going inside. "Let's eat some mangoes!"

Gia glanced back to get one last look at the scene before her. That's when she noticed clusters of clouds forming in the distance, and again she wondered what things were out there. Trips to be taken, discoveries to be found, stories to be made...

"Coming, Auntie," She said, following her aunt inside.

Red flames burned across the Evergreen Forest, destroying everything in its path. Trees fell, and the once beautiful blue sky was now shrouded out by the choking smoke. There was fire everywhere, but only black fire crawled up the tower in which a certain owl could not escape...

Oliver pulled, scraped, and even bit at the chains that bound the princess to the wall, but he could not brake it. Toxic fumes poisoned the air as the wicked fire made its way up the tower. Sent by the witch, the black fire would never stop until it's target was burned to a feathery crisp.

"Go," Janna tried to say, coughing, "Go!"

"No! I will never leave you!" He mustered up all his remaining strength and pulled again, but to no avail. "I will not leave you again! Never again!"

The poison seeping through her body finally reached her heart, and she could take it no more. Janna's vision faded to black as her knees gave out. The last thing she sees before losing consciousness was Oliver holding her in his wings, the smoke and fire coming up behind him.

"Janna!" He holds her close, tears threatening to fall. He lets them drop without a care. "No...No, Janna, please..." he sobs into her feathers, "I am so sorry..."

The criminal wailed in anguish for his lover. Ironically, it had been him to poison her, as he was hired by the witch to kill her. Yet now guilt racked through him, regretting that he ever listened to that selfish old hag. He knew deep down, though, that this was his fault. Now the only creature that had ever loved him was going to die for it. His cries were drowned out by the rumble of the breaking tower, just as the flames were ready to engulf him...

A flash of lightning ignited the hollow in a sudden light, startling Gia from her story. The wind had continued to grow stronger until it had blown in storm clouds earlier that day. Rain had started to fall soon after Auntie had left for work. Subsequently following that was lightning, accompanied by his partner thunder. The storm was getting angrier by the minute, which thrilled Gia. Nothing was better than finishing the last few chapters of Forbidden Love than during a raging thunder storm.

In her book, it looked as if the evil witch Hildigard was going to get her wish. Funnily, the very owl who had poisoned Princess Janna was now trying to do everything in his power to save her. Gia just had to find out how Oliver and his love was going to make it through this, or if the witch was going to win and take over the Forest Kingdom of Evergreen. Gia had no idea how the couple were going to make it out of this calamity. She lifted her candle to the next page.

Another strike of lightning broke out, but this time Gia didn't notice. Tyto Owls were gifted with a highly advanced kind of hearing, giving them the ability to hear things others can't. She set her book down. Did she hear...flapping? Cocking her head to hear better, she heard it again. Yep, that was definitely flapping. But...That can't be right. Auntie wasn't supposed to be home for hours.

Putting her candle stick aside, she crept over to the hollow's opening. She pulled back the curtains and took a small peek outside. Blinking through the army of rain drops that made it passed the branches, she could see a shadow in the distance. Another strike of lightning proved this shadow to be a bird. A really big bird...who was flying this way.

Panic struck her like one of the storm's lightning bolts. Auntie had been so careful to choose an abandoned part of the jungle to live in. They didn't have any neighbors for miles. So who was this guy!?

Gia bolted to the other side of the hollow. She felt across the wall until she found a lever. Pulling it, a camouflaged door popped open, revealing a slot just big enough for her to fit into. She squeezed herself inside and shut the door as calmly as she could make herself. The flapping was coming closer, then stopped altogether. She heard the curtains move, then creaking in the floor as the stranger entered the hollow.

I am going to die... She suddenly felt as if she was going to lose her breakfast. Images of feathered coats and sandwiches began flashing through her mind. She did not want to become a sandwich. She heard a crash and sunk back further into the slot. Maybe he's just pillaging... The thought didn't make her feel much better. What if he took her mother's necklace? Or her father's battle claws? Those two things were all she had to remember her parents by, along with a picture of them that Auntie painted. What if the stranger took that, too?

Gia couldn't let that happen. Going against her better judgment, she cracked open the door by a slit. Only being able to look through the slit with one eye, she could see that the intruder had knocked over her book case, but she couldn't see the intruder himself. Finding all her courage, she slipped her talon through the crack and grabbed whatever she felt first. Pulling back her talon into the safety of her hiding spot, she saw that she had grabbed a paintbrush and a mango.

Okay... she thought, I'll hit him with the paintbrush, then squeeze the mango's juices in his eyes. Maybe then I can knock him out with something heavier. With the plan formed in her mind, she swung open the door and raised her paintbrush, only to stop the moment his head spun around to face her. It wasn't his size or the ugly scar across his face that stopped her, but the red paint that stained his feathers.

She dropped her paintbrush. "You're a Pure One!" she gasped.

He smiled, making his scar stretch in an even uglier way. "Yes...Yes, I am." He snatched her by the shoulders and, with a mighty flap of his wings, pulled her outside. He flipped her over and lifted off into the storm.

Gia felt her talons leave the branch she was dragged onto. The branches of her tree whipped her in the face, then gave way to be replaced by the vastness of the storm. Rain quickly drenched her feathers, letting every little bit of warmth escape her body. The wind was harsh, which didn't help. Shivering, she looked up at her captor. Judging from his sheer size, she guessed he was an Eagle Owl.

Maybe if I talk to him... "I don't think it's very healthy to be out in this weather," she said the first thing that came to mind, and instantly regretted it.

"Shut up," he snapped.

The owl didn't seem to be very friendly. I don't blame him. That was an awful conversation starter. Other than Auntie, this was the first owl she had ever met. She might as well have just said "How's the weather?". Gia mentally kicked herself. Maybe something more personal.

"What's your name?" she tried again, only to have the same reaction.

"I said shut up." He gave her a shake for good measures.

Gia coiled up, fearing he might drop her. It was then that she realized how high up she really was. Glancing down, she saw an abyss of dark, swirling clouds mixed with an endless amount of rain. She could see shadows that might have been the tops of trees, but not the ground. She had no idea how to fly, and now she was afraid of heights.

Trying to fight back the nausea that had returned, she kept her head up and eyes looking in front of her, pretending that the ground was only a few feet below her. Not comfortable with her feet in the air, she desperately tried to grab on to something, even though there was nothing there. Having nothing to hold, she clamped her talons together. That did make her feel a little better, and a little warmer.

She knew that she should be scared, terrified even, but for some reason she wasn't. Instead she was relieved. This owl could have stuffed her in a bag, plucked all her feathers, and made her into a fancy hat. He could have robbed her of all her possessions. He could have eaten her, thinking that it would give him 'special' powers. If Auntie had been around, he could have hurt her, or worse. Gia flinched and dismissed that thought.

Then she realized something. This owl was not going to do these things to her, but take her to a place instead. A place that she had read about in books. A place she was fascinated with. A place where an organization of exceptional owls lived. He was taking her to St. Aegolius, where the Pure Ones lived. Gia forgot all about how cold she was, with only one thought racing around her head. The Pure Ones! She thought, I'm going to the Pure Ones!

And that's the end of Chapter 1, the first chapter to my first story! I truly hope that anyone who read this enjoyed it as much as I had writing it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Legend Of The Guardians: The Owls Of Ga'Hoole, and I do not own the song Everybody.

This story, however, is mine, and you are not allowed to use it in any way.

Thank you for reading my story, and please review!

-GG