Disclaimer: Don't own Witch. Never will.

Finally, chapter 4! Sorry it took so long, I've been waiting for people to vote on the poll i out up. since 5 out of 6 people voted for this one, that's what i'm going to do. but better late than never, right?

Sorry its so short. The chapter 4 i meant to put up was HUGE, so i had to split it into one shorty and another kinda long one. the kinda long one is still in the works, tho. no action, really, just getting ready to leave.

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep! Beep! Beep! BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP!

Matt groaned and slammed a hand down on his clock. Hearing a CRUNCH that could not be good, he looked at his fist. It was a bit larger than normal, and over little bits of broken plastic.

"Why am I not surprised?" he groaned, turning over in bed and flipping the covers off.

There were a few black feathers on the mattress when he stood up, but nothing else was showing of his alter ego. And of course, that was when his grandfather opened the door, checking on his grandson.

"Oh, good morning Matt," he said cheerfully. "Did I wake you… what happened to your clock?" he asked, looking at the broken pieces. "And why are there feathers on your bed?"

"Um… I think a raven flew into my room last night," Matt supplied weakly. "Broke my clock and left all those feathers. I'll be sure to shut my window from now on, don't worry."

His grandfather nodded, buying the story, and left the room. Matt saw his father come out of the bathroom when his grandfather was walking down the hall. He was clean shaven now, and didn't seem to care that his father-in-law was walking right in front of him. When the old man had left down the stairs, he went up to Matt.

"He can't see me," Mr. Olsen told his confused son. "Don't know why, but he came in when I had gotten up, with a few of Helen's clothes, and didn't see me at all."

"Gramps can't, but Huggles and I can…" Matt frowned. "Maybe it has something to do with the Heart of Earth. We've got to get hold of Napoleon."

"Who's Napoleon again?"

"Lillian's cat," Matt said vaguely. He took his phone out of his pocket and dialed a number on speed dial. After another Meridian curse word, he said, "Machine. They probably already left for the festival."

"Well, if he knows anything about this, I want to meet him," his father said. "Let's go."

"Dad, I already told you!" Matt sighed. "I'm quarantined here until tomorrow morning. Same with Huggles. We've got to stay here." The pair went downstairs into the kitchen, pulling out cereal and milk. But before they could start eating…

Ding dong!

"Who could that be?" Mr. Olsen asked, looking at the door. Matt glanced at the clock and swore.

"My friends," he murmured. Matt went over to the door and pulled it open to Nigel and Eric.

"Hey Matt," Nigel grinned. "You ready?" Matt, thinking fast, came up with an easy lie.

"Uh, actually, no… I'm feeling kind of sick, I think I'm gonna skip the festival today…"

"Don't give us that," Eric shook his head, crossing his arms. "You've been looking forward to this for days, and you look fine!"

"Yeah, you've been wanting to get on the Tunnel with Will for weeks now," Nigel smirked. Matt turned red as his dad, behind him, raised his eyebrows. "Lets go, the girls're waiting for us!"

"And don't forget, we've got a gig," Nigel reminded Matt. "And unless that guy broke out of prison and is coming after you, you can come, right?"

"Prison?" Mr. Olsen asked. Matt winced at the lie.

"Alright, lemme just get my phone and guitar." His friends came in and looked around, waiting as Matt ran into his room, almost slamming the door shut.

His father looked in from the door to see his son pacing and running a hand through his hair. "Planning a fight?" he joked, something he always said when Matt looked nervous.

Matt looked at him, surprised. "A fight? No, I think the girls'd call me if there was a battle going on somewhere." That shocked his father into silence. "I gotta glamour myself," he decided. "Only way I can get in front of that crowd…"

"Maybe you just shouldn't go," Mr. Olsen suggested. Matt shook his head, almost making Huggles fly off.

"No, I already missed almost every single gig and practice during the Shagon Saga—that's why I lied to Nigel about that crook, he doesn't know—and I can't miss this one."

He sighed and shut his eyes. A green ring came from his feet and flew up over his head, laving him under it. His father swore loudly and tripped over a set of clothes.

Matt rushed over and helped him up. "That was graceful," he cracked. "You ok?"

"I-I guess…" he replied. "What was that?"

"A glamour," Matt replied. "It'll keep me looking like me as long as its up. If I--or someone else—pulls it down, I think the black feathers'll give us away."

"Black feathers?"

His son winked at him, picking up his phone and the guitar he'd given him last night. "Can't be a dark angel without wings, Dad."

Matt ran back out of his room, followed by a shocked and confused Mr. Olsen. Nigel and Eric were looking around the kitchen, and Nigel was holding a bottle right above his mouth.

Matt looked at the purple inside and swore. "Nigel, don't drink that!" he yelled, grabbing it. His friends looked at him, surprised. "Where'd you find this?" Matt demanded, after reading the label. Elyon had labeled it in Metamoorian so no one else could read "Power Booster". She'd given a bottle to each of them, like an emergency energy bar. But if a normal person drank it... the results weren't good.

"Over there," Eric motioned to the top shelf. "It was just sitting there. We were just looking for a snack."

Matt remembered that he'd been too lazy to put it in the special hidden cabinet a few weeks ago and had completely forgotten about it. "Well, you were really lucky I got here," he told them. "This is rat poison, Nige. Special, really strong rat poison my dad used to use for his office."

"Well, it doesn't say rat poison. I can't even read that."

"It's Korean," Matt lied off the top of his head. "Dad brought it home before he disappeared in Taiwan."

He put it back in the cupboard, making a mental note to hide it before someone did drink it.

"Your dad disappeared?" Eric asked.

Matt glanced over his shoulder at his dad, who was smiling. "Yeah… he went to a hotel in Taiwan, ordered Chinese, and wasn't seen again. I was 10." Nigel clapped his friend on the back sympathetically.

"Courts declared him dead a little while ago," Nigel explained. "Hit them all hard."

A sudden thought popped into Matt's mind. How in the name of Kandrakar am I supposed to explain this to Mom and Gramps? I can't just say, "Hey, I've been lying to you for the past 2 years, I've got powers and Dad's just been trapped on a jungle planet we were banished from for the last five years and now he's back!" Man, the girls are gonna KILL me.

"We'd better go," Nigel added. "Don't wanna be late."

See? Ultra-short. I just broke the doubling-numbers-per-chap thingy. oh well, whatever.

hope you liked it! r&r, plz!

Au revoir, Tibki