BROOOOOOOOO!

A lone voice destroyed the silence I had been enjoying. Sensing danger, I willed myself into the physical world, into the dark tomb that I considered my earthly home. The room appeared before me, holding the hulking figure of my younger brother and fellow Earth Guardian Force.

"BRO THEY HURT ME BAD AND THEY'RE COMING! SIX OF 'EM, WITH WEAPONS AND THEY WANT TO FIGHT!"

"Sacred, calm down. What's with all the shouting?"

"SOME KIDS WOKE ME UP," he said, much calmer but still almost screaming. "I COULDN'T TAKE THEM ALL AT ONCE. THEY'RE STILL IN THE TOMB SOMEWHERE."

It wasn't like my brother to cower in the face of mortals. He was rather dependent at times, but he could certainly handle himself in a fight. Of course, the victories he could boast of anymore were mostly over students that had gotten lost in our massive cavern; we didn't receive many challenges anymore. Still, I figured it would be best to stick around and make sure everything was secure.

A sudden rumbling broke me from my thoughts - the bridge outside had been lowered. It was only then that I noticed the distinct sound of running water from below, which could only mean one thing: the lake surrounding us was being drained into the channels in the rock. These things did not go unnoticed by my brother.

"THEY'RE COMING! GET READY BRO!"

I summoned up my weapon from the spirit world, gripping it tightly in both hands. If these kids had gotten this deep into the tomb, they would put up a good fight. But Sacred and I didn't serve just anyone; they'd have to prove themselves first.

The six filed in, obviously ready for a fight. While my brother bellowed at them, I took note of my assailants. Aside from being surprisingly young, none of them seemed out of the ordinary – except the kid in black. There was something in his eyes I didn't like, and he carried a weapon I'd never seen in person. I made him out to be my first target.

But he wasn't the one that struck first. The blonde-headed boy in jeans was already running for me at breakneck speed, and he quickly launched himself into a forward kick. I blocked with my weapon and tossed him to the side. The others had moved into action just as quickly, and I felt the heat of a fire spell miss to my left. I swung my weapon in a low arc, knocking over the girl in the yellow dress as her friend in pink stepped back. I caught her snapping whip with the handle of my weapon and pulled it from her hands before I felt a foot smash into my spine. The blonde boy was already back on his feet, and I had been careless enough to turn my back on him. I silently cursed my fellow Guardians for the strength they were bestowing onto these mortals. I stepped sideways, moving away from my brother but keeping all my foes in front of me. Drawing from the earth below, I cured myself and went back on the offensive.

An overhead cleave separated the three youths but hit none of them, and my reward was a nunchaku in the eye. The blonde boy charged again, but I thrust a massive elbow into him. My aim was true, and he landed right on the girl in yellow, sending both of them slamming into the wall. As I turned to face the little pink one again, I felt a tug at my chest and registered the loss of magical power; someone was after my Double magic. But with the chance to eliminate a third challenger from the pack, I took no notice.

Her whip was no match for me as we traded blows; I healed whenever I needed, and countered her misguided attacks by collapsing walls and destroying stone. My weapon slammed into the cavern as she ducked, then rolled away from me. Several huge stones fell between us and I considered my job done. A blast of ice at my back dispelled that myth, as I turned to face the girl in yellow once more. Her companion in blue had resurrected both of my former kills, and was casting curing spells two at a time. Realizing now where my Double magic had gone, I looked for a new strategy. Well, if they were going to gang up on us, why couldn't we gang up on them?

I turned to my brother, who was faring much worse than I. Bullet holes were tearing into his flanks as fast as he could seal them up, and the black-garbed boy I had noticed earlier was scoring three hits for every pitiful swing of my brother's weapon.

"Sacred!" I roared. "Time to serve up the special!"

"RIGHT BRO. LET'S SEE YOU GUYS HANDLE THIS!"

With a sweep of his weapon, he forced the leader to retreat next to his gun-toting sidekick. Then, we called forth our powers together, willing the very earth beneath them all to shake. Finally, with matching slices of our weapons we sent waves gliding through the earth at each foe, hitting them with everything we had while they were off balance. Four bodies trembled and fell, injured but still protected enough by their junctions to continue fighting. Another, the gunslinger, took the full brunt of the attack; it sent him flying into the wall, his body impacting with a resounding crack. But the girl in yellow met the attack with a wall of flame, standing with her arms extending in the air.

Then she simply disappeared.

The temperature in the cave rose immediately, and a large section of stone in the ceiling was ripped away. A huge figure dropped down through the opening, compressing the material into a ball above his head and inflaming it with magical fires. With a roar, he slammed both his fists into it, sending the meteor crashing into my brother and me. My body buckled under the pressure, falling to the ground as ash and pebbles flew everywhere. The fire demon then disappeared into the air, leaving only dust in his wake. From my left, I heard the faint sound of my brother's voice:

"SORRY BRO. I COULDN'T TAKE IT."

I saw the faces of the teenagers react to this, obviously expecting me to relent as well. But I was in no such mood. Drawing what healing I could from the ground, I charged forward with my weapon raised. I brought it down upon the boy in black, but his unusual weapon locked against mine, stopping it dead. Meanwhile, the girl in blue ran to help her fallen comrade. As I battled the strongest of the six, the one with the whip shouted a spell. I felt myself rising off the ground, as if invisible wings had been attached to me. I continued to swing my weapon, but it was no use – my opponent parried every strike, and now I was without a means of healing. As I struggled to find my footing, my attackers surrounded me. I swung my weapon in a wide arc, hoping to push them back. But this last lunge was met by a flash of green light, and I realized that the end was upon me. My weapon was ineffective, my earth-based magic was useless, and they were all at full strength. As the boy with the scar prepared to strike, I dropped my weapon to the ground.

"The brothers…defeated?"

The boy backed away, and the others rested their weapons as well. They knew they had won.

"Very well, we shall serve you. Call on us when you require our services in battle."

And with that, I withdrew myself from the physical world once again.