Disclaimer: "Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog" and its' characters are owned by Saban and whoever else was involved with the creation and production of this show. Any new characters and story lines that come into play are of my own creation. No copyright infringement is intended. This is a fanfiction intended for entertainment purposes only and no money is being made off of it.

guardianM3: For those who do not know, this is a sequel to the story, 'The Sacred Stone'. So if you haven't read that one yet, I suggest you do before you read this one or otherwise you will be lost and confused.

Chapter 1: Trouble Returns

Angus walked aimlessly down the path, his thoughts filled with memories of Macha. He could hear her sweet clover voice over the breeze that swept past him. He could see the brightness of her silver hair and the strength within her shimmering green eyes. He could feel her lips on his, sending waves of excitement roaring through him.

Angus sighed, allowing his whole being to be filled with the essence of Macha. Then he let out a deep breath when he remembered how it felt when he had lost her. Even though she had only been dead for a few minutes, it had felt as though a century had passed. Angus could remember watching as the life left her eyes and closed when she had succumbed to the darkness of death.

He remembered when he held her hand, praying to Dagda to return her to him; he had felt the warmth of the Amulet of Life flow through him. He had felt such love and life flow through him and into Macha, that he could still feel that energy inside of him and inside of her.

He reached into his pocket to pull out the Crystal of Sight so he could look at her again but his pockets were empty. Then he remembered that Cathbad had taken the Crystal of Sight away from him earlier that day. Cathbad had told Angus that using the crystal too often wasn't such a good idea.

Angus took his hands out of his pockets, muttering underneath his breath about Druids who seemed to know better than anyone else did.

He felt a rush of air go over him and saw a dark shadow go past him. Angus looked up and watched as a creature landed twenty feet from where he stood.

The creature stood upon two feet with sharp talons that dug into the earth. Feathered black wings protruded from its back spread out to its full span. The creature had a long snout, sharp teeth and the pointy ears of a wolf. Its entire body was covered with thick, black fur. Its yellow eyes gazed hungrily at Angus. The creature snarled at Angus and took a step closer to the Mystic Knight.

"Earth beneath me," Angus said as he was swallowed in bright light and when it faded, he had on his silver and gold armor.

The creature leapt toward the Mystic Knight its teeth gleaming and its eyes focused only on its prey. Angus slammed his Terra Sling Mace onto the ground, causing the earth to shake. The creature just rose into the air, with a howl, not even affected by the mystical weapon's attack.

The talons of the beast grabbed Angus. It rose into the air bringing the Mystic Knight into the sky. Angus yelled as the beast lifted him above the treetops. He brought up his mace and swung at the creature's legs. The creature roared in pain and anger, releasing Angus.

Angus began to fall and realized that maybe it hadn't been such a good idea to attack the creature while he had been up so far. He felt himself stop and knew that he had hit the ground and was dead.

He slowly opened his eyes and saw that the ground was a few feet below him. He knew that he was going to hit the ground so he closed his eyes. After a few seconds, he opened them again and was still staring at the ground. He waved his arms and realized that he was floating about ten feet off of the ground.

He heard giggles in front of him. He lifted his head up and saw a golden haired girl who looked to be barely sixteen standing about ten feet away from him.

"Hello, little girl, ye know, instead of standing there laughing at me, ye could help me down," Angus said as he waved his hands.

As the girl gave him an annoyed look, he felt something familiar, an energy that he could still feel in himself. It was a feeling that called to his heart and his very being.

"Hello, Angus," said a familiar sweet clover voice that had come from beside of him.

"Macha!" Angus exclaimed.

She had been standing on his left side and when she had spoken, she had come to stand in front of him. The Amulet of Life that she wore around her neck was glowing; obviously, she was using the amulet to keep Angus from crashing into the ground. "Grab onto my hand, Angus," Macha said softly, as she held out her hand, her other hand holding onto her staff.

Without any hesitation, Angus grabbed Macha's hand and he felt his feet slowly drop to the ground as his torso turned upright. His feet hit the ground and he let out a sigh of relief.

He leaned in to kiss her but she put her fingers onto his lips, preventing him from coming any closer.

"I do not believe we have time for this right now, Angus. We must stop that creature before it reaches one of the villages," Macha pointed out, giving Angus an apologetic smile.

"Oh, right," Angus replied with disappointment as Macha turned and ran, followed by the girl who had an amused grin on her face. Angus took off after them, exhilarated and happy that Macha had indeed returned just as she had said she would.

The creature flew steadily across the sky, its yellow, hawk-like eyes searching for prey below. It howled triumphantly when it spotted over a dozen dwellings with many people walking about the small village. The creature dove, breaking through a dark gray cloud, not minding the water that clung to its fur and wings.

When the creature was close to the treetops, terrified screams reached its ears. It watched as the helpless people below ran away from its shadow. The creature howled in excitement and landed on the ground only a few feet from one of the villagers.

The man screamed when he saw the creature and turned to run away from it. The creature beat its wings and a miniature tornado went swirling toward the man. The man was lifted up into the air and was thrown through the roof of a hut.

The creature took its claws and slashed at the hut nearest to it. As the wall collapsed and the roof fell in, the creature opened its jaws and howled in excitement at the destruction. The creature began to destroy the dwellings and would howl in delight, as it smelled the fear.

The creature was too busy enjoying the destruction it was causing to notice that three people had entered the village and were coming towards it. Angus quickened his pace, passing Macha and the girl as he headed toward the creature.

Angus rammed into the creature, sending it sprawling to the ground. The creature leapt up onto its feet and grabbed onto Angus' shoulders. Angus couldn't believe that the creature was going to bring him into the sky, but he was surprised when the creature lifted him up and threw him several yards away. Angus crashed into the ground and let out a loud groan when it felt as though his muscles and skeleton were on fire. He was unable determine which direction was the sky and which was the ground, because all he could see were swirling colors.

Macha saw that Angus was hurt, but he was alive and she knew that he would be all right. She decided that it was best to focus on the creature before it could do any more damage to the village and to Angus. She rushed toward the creature, swinging her staff at its head. The creature grabbed onto the staff, sending Macha flying into the air. Macha was able to right herself in the air and land roughly onto her feet. She kept her eyes locked into the creature's eyes, both waiting for the other to strike.

The golden-haired girl unsheathed two short swords and ran towards the creature. She jumped into the air as the creature lifted itself off of the ground, ready to attack Macha. She held her swords parallel and brought them both down onto the creature's wings simultaneously. The creature howled in pain and anger as it dropped onto the ground with dozens of its feathers drifting around it.

"Now, Macha," the girl yelled as she avoided a swipe from the creature's claws.

Macha raised her amulet and it sent a ray of light at the creature. The creature turned to face Macha and took a step toward her. Before the creature could take another step, it cried out in pain as it turned into dust.

Macha walked quickly over to Angus with concern in her eyes. "Are you all right?"

Angus looked up at Macha and gave her a smile. "I shall live to fight again."

"I suggest we go to the castle and tell the King, Cathbad and the other Mystic Knights about this creature," Macha suggested as she grabbed Angus' arm and helped bring him to his feet.

Angus groaned softly as he straightened his body, glad that he still had feeling. "I believe that would be a wise idea, Macha."

The young girl walked up to them with a triumphant smile on her face as she sheathed her two short swords. "That was rather exciting. I'm glad that I decided to come along with you, Macha."

Macha frowned as she looked at the younger girl but there was a glimmer of respect in her eyes. "We shall discuss this later."

The girl sighed knowing full well what she and Macha were going to be discussing. "I suppose we should head off now."

Angus looked from the girl back to Macha, wondering how they knew each other. He shrugged slightly knowing that the introductions would be made when they had returned to the castle. His armor shone brightly for a moment and faded away, revealing his normal attire.

Angus nodded, a signal telling her that he was ready to leave. Macha led the way, with Angus and the girl on either side of her.

Angus was glad to have Macha back in Kells, but he could not help but worry about her. When Anian had killed Macha, Angus' heart had not been broken but it had been lost, as he had lost her. The Amulet of Life had brought Macha back to him, but he wasn't certain if it would work again. He knew that trouble had returned to Kells and he wasn't certain whether they could stop the darkness this time.

guardianM3: I hope that this is a good beginning. If this chapter is horrible, I will gladly fix it. Let me know by posting a review.