Summary: As new problems develop on Meridian, relationships are breaking and making in Heatherfield.
Prologue: The Oracle was sitting in his chambers, lost in thought, when a faint crying sound reached his ears. He stood and looked outside, but no one was there. The sound echoed through the great temple, making everyone stop and look. "Oracle, what makes the sound?" someone asked. He went to a nearby window and waved his hand over it. Will appeared on window, crying, and hugging her knees to her chest. "She is forever connected to this place. It's reflects her heart. And at this moment in time, her pain is heavier then she can bear." The Oracle sighed, reaching light fingers out to the glass. "Oh, little Will, could I but take the pain away…."
(Several days earlier…)
The girls were walking to school, when Caleb snuck up behind them. "Hi, what are you guys doing?" Cornelia turned around. "Caleb, I'm so glad to see you!" She planted a big kiss on his cheek, leaving a lot of lipstick. He wiped it away hastily. "I'll see you after school; Blunk's got some news about Meridian. It isn't good." As he headed down the street Will watched him go. Irma bumped Will with her elbow. "What do you think of it?" Will turned back around. "I don't want to think about what Phobos has come up with this time."
"Not that, silly, look!" Will looked up. Hanging over the school was a big banner, proclaiming the formal dance coming up in two weeks. "Are you going?" Hay Lin asked. Will shrugged. "Who would I go with? Matt's dating that new girl, and he basically made it clear that we weren't going out anymore." They split when they got on campus, because they all went to different classes.
Will sat in biology, taking notes. They were writing something about genes and DNA. She started doodling along the edge, tiny pictures. She started making a picture of Caleb. There was something so safe and assuring about him. She always felt better when Caleb was in the planning of attacks. He saw things much simpler than others, often seeing one detail that affected the whole plan.
Cornelia ran up to the girls at lunch. "Guess what?" she squealed. "Mark asked me to go with him to the dance!" They looked up at her. "What about Caleb?" Taranee asked, eyebrows raised. "Well, I've been waiting ages for Mark to ask me out, and it's not like Caleb would want to go to a dance, so it's all okay." Hay Lin and Irma exchanged a look. "Isn't that kind of leading him on?" Hay Lin pointed out. Cornelia turned to her. 'Oh so I shouldn't go out with him? He asked me. It would be rude to say no." Irma put up her hands in surrender. "Well, don't let us stop you." Will sat there silent. "You really shouldn't play with their minds like that. Mark could handle that, but Caleb? He's always said that love is special. He finds out you did that, not only do you lose him, but he's liable to do something that we have to go rescue him from." Cornelia thought for a second. "If you distract him with maps or something that night, he'll never know." Will looked up at her. "You want me to 'distract' Caleb so you can go make googly eyes at some dumb jock?" Cornelia smiled. "I knew you'd understand!" Will rolled her eyes. "Fine", she muttered. "But only so he isn't running around causing havoc."
After school they met up at the Silver Dragon. Caleb and Blunk sat in the basement, waiting for them. Caleb spread out a big map of Meridian.
"We think that Phobos is trying to get inside the Infinite City. We've seen some signs of serious drilling, and lots of creeps to guard the spots. If Phobos gets inside the Infinite City, he would crush the rebellion as they stand. We need to destroy the drills, before they get much farther."
Irma looked at the map. "Uh, if we take out the drills, won't that make him double his efforts, and triple his monsters?"
Caleb shook his head. "Phobos isn't known for his patience. If it doesn't work the first time, he tries something else. Meaning that he never really accomplishes anything of importance, expect owning Meridian of course."
Taranee reached over Hay Lin's shoulder. "Where are the drill sites, and which ones are farthest along?"
Blunk pointed to 3 of the ten spots. "These closest to City, sometime's make ceiling shake."
Hay Lin circled the spots. "How long till they break through?"
Caleb shrugged. "We're not sure, but we're guessing week and a half at their pace. You can never count on if Phobos tells them to work through the night."
Will leaned over to the map. "Each of these are spaced throughout the city, countryside, and swamp lands. If we strike hard and fast at the outlying ones, the ones within the city will have no back-up and if we're lucky, no warning either. If us Guardians separate out and hit each of those 3, then take out the other seven. Caleb, can you get back to Meridian? I know you have around the clock spies on the drills, keep us updated. Spread the rebels as you see fit."
Caleb rolled back up the map. "Will do. I'll be back on Friday to tell you how it's going." He left for a portal and the others began the walk home.
Throughout the next few days all the other girls were asked to the dance. Irma went with someone on her soccer team, Hay Lin went with Eric, and Taranee was asked by a shy boy in her math class. Will said no to everyone saying she already had plans. On Friday when she passed Hay Lin in the hall, Hay Lin stopped her. "Will, I just got a call from my gran. She says Caleb's back with the final plans. Will? Do you really intend to go through with deceiving him like this?" Will leaned her head against the lockers. "Hay Lin, I don't know." Hay Lin was the only one who knew about how Will felt about Caleb. "If he breaks up with her, he's open to me. He breaks up with Cornelia she never speaks to me again. I wish I knew what to do." Hay Lin patted her arm tenderly. "I'm sure you'll do what's right."
That night, Will carefully selected a clean pair of jeans, a green shirt, and a black jacket over it. No matter what happened now, she wanted to at least look presentable. She walked over to the Silver Dragon, picking her way around puddles from last night's rain. She headed downstairs, where Caleb already was. "Hey Will, what are you doin' here?" She shrugged. "Oh, I thought I would stop by and make sure everything was okay for tomorrow's attack. I brought Hay Lin's map of the portals. I had a few more ideas about what to do, in case the plan doesn't work. She spread out the map showing the portals.
"Now this one opens near here on Meridian. I'm thinking that we'll have Hay Lin lead this one here. She could use the strong winds that funnel through the tunnels to her advantage. This one could be good for Irma, because it's near the river. I'm a little concerned about what will happen if the monsters come up, but that we can't control. Taranee can go anywhere, so long as it's away from the city. I don't want any houses getting lit of fire. I'm thinking of putting Cornelia here, by the cliffs. If worst comes to worst she can always make a rockslide and bury them. What do you think?"
Caleb leaned back. "Something's wrong." She looked up at him. "What? Not enough people?" He shook his head. "You're not okay, I can tell. Something's bothering you." She propped her chin up on her hands and sighed. "Yeah, actually it's been bothering me for the past few days, while you've been gone." Caleb leaned forward. "I'm all ears." Will took a deep breath and started.
"Suppose that you have two friends. A girl and a guy. They really like each other, and everyone knows it. Now this girl friend is kind of going out with another guy, behind this guy friend's back. And she's asked you to cover for her while she goes out with this other guy, and you do it, because you really like the first guy, and your hoping he likes you too. Would you tell your guy friend the truth, or let it pass?"
Caleb chuckled. "It sounds like it would be a lot easier to say that Cornelia is out with some doofus right now, and that she asked you to distract me and you have a crush on me, so you said yes, hoping that with some one-on-one time, I'd grow to like you as more than a friend."
Will blinked a few times. "How did you figure all of that out?" Caleb shrugged. "I went to go talk to you girls at lunch time a couple days ago, when I heard Cornelia talking about going out with Mark. I saw your face and heard what you said. And I kind of like you too. The truth is I never really liked Cornelia. She forced me into a relationship when I didn't have the first clue what to do. I just didn't have an idea how to tell her that I didn't feel that way about her."
Music floated in from upstairs. Caleb stood, collapsing the table and rolling the maps. "I know that the other girls are at a dance tonight, so… Would you like to dance?" Will laughed and stood up. "Good sire, I would be honored" she said with a bow. They danced for an hour or more, whirling around the tiny basement. As the clocks struck 8 he pulled her close and kissed her. Short and sweet, but it left her breathless. She stayed for a moment longer, her left hand holding his shoulder, and her right hand holding his strong hand. She gave him a hug, with his cheek resting on her head. "I should go." She whispered. "I'll walk you home." He volunteered. He grabbed his coat and they left. As they walked, Caleb tentatively took her hand. She laced her fingers through his and smiled up at him. "This feels so normal for something I've never felt before." He laughed. "You too? I feel exactly the same. It's like something I should have been doing all along but never did, and now that I am, it connects so easily." They walked home, till Will stopped. "Can we go down another street, please?" Caleb looked down. "What's wrong?" She winced. "The dance is getting out, and that street will take us right past the school. If Cornelia sees us she'll jump to a thousand and one bad scenarios and cause an earthquake under my house." Caleb turned down another street. "I'm going to tell her tomorrow that it's over. And that I love you." She turned to him. "Do you want me to be there?" He shook his head. "I'll face this storm alone."
Will watched from the school as Caleb carefully removed Cornelia's hands off of his shoulders and explained to her. Her face changed from purple to normal. She turned and walked over to the group. She smiled, tears glistening in her eyes. "Congratulations Will. I mean it." Will looked at her surprised. "Really? You're not going to call me a back-stabbing-lying-cheating-no-longer-friend?" Cornelia shook her head. "Every girl's got to get turned down at least once. I just had mine from the unexpected person."
They met up again at the alley near the sewer system. "Okay, the lies all told out?" Irma nodded. "According to the folks, we're going to a scary movie that lasts three hours, so they won't be able to get a hold of us, because our phones must be turned off. With absolutely no specifics as to what movie theater or movie." Will nodded. "Good. Now when we get through the portal, everyone splits up. Use the walkie-talkies to tell us what's going on. We need to know where Cedric's going." Everyone nodded, and waited a moment while Will pulled out the Heart. "Guardians unite!" she said. There was a bright flash of pink light, and they felt themselves transforming, growing taller, and wings unfurling on their backs. They headed through the portal, to Caleb and Vathex. They left for their destinations, alternating between walking and flying to avoid detection.
Taranee's group struck first, killing the monsters and destroying the drill quickly. She radioed to Irma. "Irma, you're the closest one to us, you need help, or do we keep going?" Irma's voice sounded through the radio. "Help would be nice." They ran through the streets, swiftly and silently cutting through alleys. One of the men gave Taranee a large cloak and she covered herself with it. They came up on Irma's team and jumped into the fight immediately. In a few minutes, with the help of the newly added rebels, everything was done. Irma came over to her. She was sporting a new black eye and holding onto her arm. "I had to take some hits, but we need to go. Cornelia's not turning out well." As they ran along, Irma kept talking. "That was one of the ones that were closer to the City. It couldn't have been more the n10 feet away from breaking through. I'd like Corny to come back and fill it in. A tree or maybe a pond. Anything to cover it up would be good." They would have continued talking, but a soldier's body was flying through the air. Irma leaped in the air and blocked his fall. She lowered him to the ground. "What's going on?" He looked up. "They are about to break through! Quickly good Guardians! Our families will be lost!" Irma laid his head tenderly on Taranee's cloak, and ran into the fight. She whirled water from the air around her fists freezing them into blocks. She started to swing her fists wildly, knocking monsters unconscious and into each other. With the added troops, and Irma's insane swinging, the fight was soon over. Their radios crackled and Wills voice came through. "All drills are neutralized. I agree with Irma. Cornelia, take a small group of soldiers and go past each of the drill, filling in the holes. Everyone else get out of here. Go into hiding, do something. Get the heck outta the streets. The Tracker's out." Everyone turned and scattered. Cornelia turned to her walkie talkie. "Will, is everything okay?" Will's voice was fighting panic as she spoke. "Cedric came. He's got Caleb!"
The girls knelt at the roots of the great tree that held of the palace. "What happened?" Will's sobs and shivers were lost in the steadily falling rain. "Cedric came up to us. Caleb saw him coming and made me hide. He tried to fight Cedric, but Cedric knocked him out. It was too late for Cedric to stop the rebels, but he took Caleb away. What are we going to do?" Will's face was pale, lost and broken. I heard some guards talking about it. They say that he's tied up in the sewers. We have to get him out. I'm no genius, but from what I could tell, he was bleeding, and it looked like he was out of it." Taranee zoomed off for a few minutes. "Girls come with me. I might have a way in." They followed her to a sewer hole.
It wasn't much, just a hole that disgusting water flowed out of. It was covered with weeds, and the water moved sluggishly. Taranee pushed the top of the weeds back. "We won't be able to fit all of us in here. I'll take Will, and you guys stay out here. Stay out of sight, you should be able to duck inside the entrance if worse comes to worst." She crawled inside, taking Will with her.
The tunnel was long and miserable. Both tried to keep their mouths shut as much as possible. Taranee thought to Will. "I'm thinking that I want Irma to hose us down when we get out of here."
"Agreed."They kept going, until the tunnel widened enough to stand up. The tunnel branched off in three different directions. "Which way?" Taranee asked. Will closed her eyes, letting her emotions, and her heart, guide her. It felt that the right tunnel was the way to go. She turned and started walking.
Taranee heard it first. A moan. "My head." Will shot forward, scattering the grime everywhere. "Caleb!" she heard Will shout farther up the tunnel. Will came back, supporting Caleb in her arms. "He's really badly hurt." Caleb was sporting plenty of cuts and bruises, the most disconcerting was the one on his head. Half of his head was a mass of blood and hair. Will gently held him. "We've got to get him out of this hole." They found the only way to get him out was for Taranee to hold his feet, and Will to hold his head, and fly very slowly up the shaft. It was slow going, but they made it out. Irma and Hay Lin quickly formed a bubble and they set him down on the floor of it. "Is he okay?" Cornelia looked up from him. "Irma can we have some water over here?" Irma sprayed a good jet of water over them, cleaning Taranee and Will in the process. After all the blood was cleaned off, it looked a lot better. "This isn't anything a few bandages and a lot of ice can't heal, but I think he broke a rib or two. It would be better to make no assumptions and tape up his ribs. We'll have to keep him down for a few weeks." Caleb groaned again. "Will?" she dropped to her knees next to him. "I'm here. What is it?" He pulled something from his pocket and dropped it into her hand. "Used to be my mother's. They took it, long time ago. I found it, caught in a sewer all these years. Keep it safe." The ring sparkled a bright blue. It fit on her ring finger. She leaned over and kissed his forehead as he fell back asleep. "I'll protect it. Sleep and heal."
A few days later Will came to the Silver Dragon. Because of her after school job she hadn't been able to get over to see Caleb. "He's in bed, getting 'pampered' by Blunk. I think you should go save him." Sure enough Blunk was taking care of Caleb. "Does Caleb need new pillow? Blunk ate most of the bugs." Caleb smiled weakly. "No thanks Blunk. You're doing a wonderful job. How about you go get something to eat?" Blunk scampered off and Will sat down next to him. "I barely remember anything until I woke up here a few hours ago. I have to get back to Meridian. They need me." Will grabbed his wrist. "You can't go, you're still hurt. And besides there aren't any portals open right now." Caleb kept getting up, trying to put on his shoes. Will grabbed one of them and stood on the table, as he sat back lacing up the other one. "I'll make one, I don't care, and I have to go back. Cedric said something about big trap. Something about how the drills were a shield, for other things. About just blowing the town and the ground apart, to get inside the Infinite City. An I know a lot of people hiding down there." Will gave him his shoe, dumbfounded. "We have to stop them." Caleb turned to her. "No. That would bad. Giving him the rebels and the Guardians? Why don't we just hand over the Heart to him while we're at it?" Will grabbed his arm. "But you could die!" He looked at her, kissing her briefly. "I know."
(Meanwhile…)
Far away back on Meridian, the real Caleb rubbed his head. He looked around himself. "Oookay, prison cell over bottomless pit. Yup, I got caught." The guard outside was asleep but it didn't matter. There was nowhere to go, nowhere to hide. He roamed around the cage, hoping to see a loose rock on a wall, or a stick. No luck. The chain that held the cage was too far out of reach, and they didn't leave behind any water. For once Caleb felt true hopelessness. What about Will? He wondered. Why hadn't they tried to find him?
Ohh, I've got you on a cliffhanger. There's a fake Caleb, and a real Caleb. Now for those of us who are a little out of it, have no real clue, or are genuinely confused, I'll explain. For those who like a little mystery with their salsa, skip down to the story.
Caleb really did get caught by Cedric, just as Will said. The real Caleb was given some drink that would keep him out of it for several hours, meaning he couldn't be contacted by Taranee. Cedric had Caleb locked up in the cage he's currently in, then turned into a copy of Caleb, and went down to the sewers, tying himself up and leaning against the wall just minutes before Taranee and Will found him. So he went back to Earth, then after he got out of the Silver Dragon, he went back to Meridian, by opening a portal. And for that who just clicked all the buttons, yes, that means that Will did kiss Cedric. EEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWW!!!!! The question is, where is this all leading? Hmmmm……
Caleb was sitting in the center of the cage. If he sat anywhere else, the cage leaned back and forth. He moved it underneath him, rocking the cage gently. Then he had his brilliant idea. He stood up and began to move from one side of the cage to the other. By doing so he could get the cage to swing back and forth. He stopped as he heard the huge pin that held the chain screw a little loose. Then he stuck his head out the cage, and looked around him. There were only two ways to exit this hole. Either he dropped down to where the guard slept, or he figured out how to crawl out of the cage, and up the chain, where there was a huge network of poles and rocks to lose himself in. He started again to swing it, back and forth. It was actually very easy once it got going. He had to time this perfectly. He stopped as the screw slipped, then threw all of his weight against the right side. The entre cage began to fall, leaning toward the right. Caleb clutched the top of the cage as it hit the ground. The cage was made of wood, so it shattered easily under the heavy metal chain. He leaped out of the remains of the cage and knocked the guard down, grabbing his sword. Caleb ran through the castle, going steadily up. He ran till he couldn't find any more stairs. He ran into a room, screeched to a halt. Elyon stood there, braiding her hair in the mirror. She spun around, staring at him. "Caleb? What are you doing here?" she exclaimed. Caleb started to talk, but someone pounded on the door. "Open up, we know that your hiding the rebel in there." Elyon looked from the door to Caleb. She pointed to a door on the far side. "Get in there." Caleb hurled himself in, trying to shut the door quietly. He found himself in Elyon's closet, and crouched down on the floor. Elyon opened the door. "Yes?" The guards stuttered. "Your Majesty! We thought we saw a rebel run in here. One escaped from downstairs. We were concerned for your safety." Elyon laughed, and Caleb could imagine her smiling flirtatiously at the guards, like she used to when she lived on earth. "No one's been in here for a few hours. But thank you for being so worried about me. I feel very safe." She shut the door, then opened the closet.
"I'm not hiding you because I like you, I'm hiding you because you're now my prisoner, and I want answers. Everyone here is lying to me. Even Cedric's lying. I thought I could trust him, or at the least my brother. But I get the feeling that you're an honest person, like my friends on Earth." Caleb stared at her, open-mouthed. "You're Phobos's sister?" She nodded. Caleb immediately bowed. "You truly are 'Your Majesty'. You are the true heir to the throne of Meridian!" Elyon nodded. "I know that. Phobos was at least honest in that aspect of it." Caleb stood near the big door, still wary of searchers.
"No, I mean it on a more grand scale the Phobos means. You could bring life to this wasteland. The bright colors of Earth? You can make them even brighter here. He means for you to become Queen, but live under his direction all of your life, and he probably intends to make that a very short life. By law, you could take the throne right from under him, and you're powerful enough to do it. Your friends, Cornelia, Will, Taranee, Irma, Hay Lin? They're on your side. They've been trying to find a way to get word to you about Phobos for months now. He intends to force your power from you, claiming to keep it until you're ready, but never actually return it. We found out his plot only recently. He wants to poison this weird crown or whatever, that will kill you after sapping all of your magic."
Elyon nodded. "I have suspected as much for a long time. But kill me? I didn't think he could." She stared into the fire. "He's scared of me you know." She whispered. "He gets this look in his eye. Like I'm the big dog and he's the little cat." She stood up. "I will need your help." She walked over to him. "I have tried, many times to remove this crown. It stays on even in my sleep. I believe that Phobos has done something to it that will keep me from pulling it off. Will you please try?" Caleb pulled at the top of it. It seemed to stick for a moment, then gave in his hand. He gave it back to her, and she tossed it under her bed. Elyon stood in the center of her room, then she raised her hands over her head. The portal came out of her hand, and spread till it was the size of a door. "I'm leaving this place for now. If what you say is true, then I will need my old friend's help." He stepped through the portal after her, and found them in the Silver Dragon.
Will looked up to see Elyon stepping through the portal. Right after her was Caleb. Will stood up quickly "What are you doing here? You just left!" Caleb looked confused. "Uh, no I've been inside a cage this entire time." Elyon laid a small hand on her arm. "It must've been Cedric. One day he showed me how he could change his form. He turned into me." Will face got a greenish tint to it. "I kissed CEDRIC?! I think I gonna hurl." She drank some water and listened to Elyon.
"I've tried talking to you all before, but Cedric and Phobos said that none of you wanted to speak to me." Will leaned on her knees. "How do we know you're not just another copy of Elyon, sent to confuse and hurt us?" Elyon looked around and saw one of Caleb's knives. "I can do this." She grabbed the knife, and slit her arm. It bled red. "Cedric bleeds purple, no matter what form he takes. Phobos? I don't think he can bleed at all." Will nodded. "I believe her. Caleb get the girls. I'm going to check the portals."
Cornelia and Irma were the first people to arrive, Cornelia having run there. "Elyon!" she cried when she ran through the door. Elyon hugged her old friend, tears in her eyes. "Cornelia!" she stepped back to look at her. "You look great, but then again, when don't you? Oh, and that's the last time I take your advice about picking a guy. Especially creeps that open bookstores." They laughed. Irma looked to Will. "She's not a copy?" Will shook her head. "I pulled out the Heart and managed to nudge her with it while I was hanging it over the map. She didn't change. That's the real Elyon."
Cedric and Phobos watched from afar, identical grins on their faces. "Our plan is working perfectly." Cedric said. Phobos only frowned slightly. "My traitorous sister will have to be dealt with, but we will simply have to take that as it comes. In the meantime, yes, things are going exactly according to plan."
They planned to open a portal, with Elyon's help, to lead them to the rebel hideout. Then they would march as one, with Elyon, Caleb, and the Guardians in front, leading the attack. aElyon was to forgo the battle itself, and seek out Phobos. The Guardians would distract Cedric from his master, and the rebels could handle anything else. Will looked over all the maps and found nothing wrong with them, but still felt uneasy. There was something here, something she had missed. But whatever it was, she couldn't remember it. Elyon looked up at her. "What's wrong Will? You look confused." She shook her head. "I keep thinking that we missed something, something really important." Caleb patted her shoulder. "I don't think so. Besides, we have Elyon on our side again. What could possibly go wrong?"
Will rolled over in her bed, watching her alarm. She wanted to go to sleep for the precious few hours she had before the attack, but her hand was bothering her. It itched all the way up to her elbow, and she had already tried to put lotion on it. She tossed off her covers, and opened her window. If she couldn't go to sleep, she might as well get going. She transformed, and flew into the night, shutting the window behind her. The still-form astral drop would cover for her until tomorrow morning, but they hoped to be back before tonight. She got to the Silver Dragon and quietly knocked on the back door. Caleb would hear, and let her in without walking up the family. He opened the door quickly and let her in. They hurried down stairs, taking care to lock the door behind them. Caleb rubbed his head as they sat down. "I don't like this." Will looked up at him. "Why?" He shrugged. "It's sounds like were banking everything on this one shot. And no matter what we do, something will go wrong. I'm just worried." Will touched his face gently. "I know, but we've covered everything we can think of. It'll be okay." The others showed up pretty soon after that and they got ready to go. Elyon opened a portal, and they stepped through. The rebels were waiting, excited to have Elyon on their side.
They marched through the Infinite City, coming out near the palace. Elyon floated up in the air, surveying the two great armies on the battlefield. The girls flew behind her, wary of Cedrics long tail. Elyon spoke and her voice could be heard everywhere. "Cedric! Our fight is not here. Surrender the false Prince Phobos for a duel with me and lives will not be lost." Cedric reared up. "My master will come when he pleases." He hissed. Elyon spread her hands. "He will come now!" she roared. Blue lightning shot from her hands to the Palace. Phobos was pulled out a window by it and dragged to stand in the air before her. "Ahh, my traitor sister. Run to the Guardians for help have you? It won't do you any good. My powers are superior to your own." She clenched a fist and the lightning around him came closer. "But I'm going to try." She snarled. Phobos raised his hand slightly. "I would worry about your precious leader first." Will felt dizzy, then suddenly dropped. Something was weighing her down; almost more then she could stand. She hit the ground with a crunch, landing on a cliff nearby. The air around her arm shivered and an ugly blue crystal appeared, going from almost her elbow to a stump on her hand. Everyone looked on in horror as the blue crystal inched its way farther up her arm, then a long piece of it snatched her other arm, binding them together. She screamed in pain, but Phbos's laugh drowned her out. "Cedric as Caleb gave you a ring. I believe you forgot it was there, because you couldn't see it anymore. It grew to become this." Elyon's eyes flamed, and with a massive heave, she threw Phobos as far as she could. He braked quickly and came flying back at her. "ATTACK!!" Elyon screamed. The two armies charged to each other and the Guardians tried to get Will free. "Don't' worry about me. Get Cedric, before he starts to hurts people." She gasped. They flew off. "Be careful Will." She gathered herself together and stood up. The road was long to the ground fight and she didn't think she could carry the crystal with her tiny wings. She could barely stand with it. She stumbled down the road, losing sight of the battle.
It was nearly 15 minutes before she saw the fight again. Phobos was lying on the ground, his power drained by Elyon. The fight was still going on strong though. Three large monsters had Caleb trapped. He fought bravely, but one smashed in his skull. Will gasped and tried to run to him, but the weight of the living rock on her arms was too much. She crashed to her knees with him, tears fighting their way to the surface. I'm supposed to be one of the most powerful beings on Earth and I can't save him? She felt the Quinntecense charge through her hands, weak at first, then it grew more powerful. She concentrated the energy at her hands, feeling them burn. She gave it one last shot and the crystal finally shattered, pieces flying everywhere. But she couldn't move fast enough.
Will watched with tears streaming down her face as Caleb drew one more rattling breath, turned over and died. She ran to him, cradling his head in her arms. "Caleb, don't leave. I need you here." She looked out over the battle. So many were gone. How many more would die? She stood up, standing over Caleb. "ENOUGH!!!" she roared. Blue lightning crackled and shot off in all directions. Everyone froze and turned to her. She rose into the air, facing the battlefield. "I have had IT!! The endless fighting, while people starve and die. Why? Because Phobos ordered you to? He has no more power over you. Why continue the fight? To see who is best? No! Will you fight, till not one man stands alive? Either this war ends tonight, or I rip this world apart from the seams."
Everyone looked at each other, truly seeing each other for the first time. Not enemies. Not Phobos's men versus the rebels. But kinsmen, once friends. Like a great wave every man bent down and dropped their swords. Quivers and bows clattered to the ground. Elyon walked to Will. "I want to show them what Meridian used to be. But my powers aren't strong enough yet. Will you help me?" Will looked at her and pulled out the Heart and dropped it in her hand. "Here, I don't know how to do that." She dropped to the ground, pulling Caleb's body into her arms. Sobs shook her body, tears fell like rain. She felt the blast of the two Hearts, and felt a light sweep through her. She buried her face in Caleb's hair, hiding away from the world. She looked at him. "Caleb, I don't believe you're really dead. Please come back."
Caleb opened his eyes. He was standing now, but he was wearing weird clothes. It was a big robe that covered him from head to toe. It looked like something the Oracle would wear. He looked around him and nearly cussed. "What the…?" He was standing in a hallway, looking at three paths. One led to light, another to the rest of Kandracar, and the last led to darkness. He looked around him. "Oracle? What's going on?" The Oracle floated up from the Kandracar side. He stopped at the edge. "Caleb. I'd thought you'd be here. You're between, living, dying, and joining the ranks of the Council." Caleb looked down at himself again, and noticed something only slightly creepy. He was see-through. He saw straight through his feet to the ground. "I'm dead?" Caleb asked. Oracle shook his head. "While Will clings to your body, you are bound to Earth and Meridian. At the same time, you are dead, unable to go back. The choice is yours." Caleb looked briefly to the shining land of Kandracar, and then glanced at the darkness. Then he turned and walked back to Life.
Will was terrified, unable to move. Caleb was gone. She kissed his still-warm lips and stayed there for a moment, hoping against hope that somehow this kiss would bring him back. Will jumped a little when his arms wrapped her up, holding her against him in the cold mud. He loosened his grip a little so that she could breathe, and they heard Irma behind them. "Get a room guys good grief!" Caleb let her go enough to stand up and wrapped his arms tight around her. "Thanks for your encouragement Irma." She grinned elfishly. "Anytime."
They watched as Elyon had the official crown of Meridian placed on her head, and screamed like girls do when she stood. Caleb built a house on the cliffs, where he could always watch over his city. Will still loves him very much, and Cornelia's found a boy on Earth. Everyhting is alive and blooming on Meridian, and life is good.
