Chapter 9

The Tolling Bell

Meirz

The first thing the Matt and the Guardians noticed when arriving on Meirz was the smell.

"It smells so… clean." Taranee said, raising her nose.

"Ugh, I don't like it." Irma added, her face wrinkling.

"Well of course you don't, you've never smelt it before." Hay Lin said with a laugh.

"No, I hate to say it, but I'm with Irma." Cornelia said. "It smells like the dentists office."

"How about we focus on our other senses. Namely sight." Will said.

The girls followed Will's example and surveyed the surrounding landscape. They had folded in next to a lake, but one unlike any they had ever seen. The surface of the water was covered with floating, dead creatures. As far as the eye could see, fish and other animals coated the lake's surface so thickly, the girls were pretty sure they could walk on it.

"Well… that's traumatizing." Hay Lin said.

"So, if these are all dead fish, how can it smell clean? Why doesn't it smell like rotting fish?" Matt asked, hesitantly poking a nearby corpse with a stick he had found.

"Because they're not rotting." Taranee said. "Look, they're all in pristine condition."

"At the risk of sounding stupid, shouldn't they be rotting?" Irma asked.

"Yes. I've got a theory why they're not, but I don't think you're going to want to hear it." Taranee said.

"We need all the information we can get Taranee. Lay it on us." Will replied.

"Well, decomposition is caused by bacteria mostly. What if whatever killed the fish killed all the bacteria that would rot it as well? What if everything here died?" Taranee said.

"You're right. I don't like it." Cornelia said. "Who could do something like that?"

"And how are we supposed to fight it?" Matt added. "Remind me why we're here again?"

Heatherfield

10 Minutes Earlier

"We have to go." Taranee said, bursting into the Silver Dragon's basement.

"I knew you'd say that." Irma said. "You don't normally call an emergency meeting to say 'don't worry, nothing's wrong'. So what's the something?"

"Our worst fears." Taranee said. "Whatever happened to Spectre's world, I'm pretty sure it's happening elsewhere. And there's a pattern."

"So it's a someone then. Great." Will said, her shoulders slumping.

"And we know where it is? Or where it will be?" Matt asked.

"The next planet in line is sending out a distress call. I don't think that's a coincidence." Taranee said.

"Kandrakar's getting distress signals and they're not telling us?" Cornelia asked. "Man, first they make us do too much, now not enough!"

"Well now that we know, we have to move." Will said. "Doesn't matter what the threat, if there's innocent people in trouble, we have to try to help. We're Guardians, it's what we do."

"Glad to hear your enthusiasm, young warrior. When do we leave?"

Will turned to see Spectre making his way out of the corner of the basement. He had been listening silently up to this point, and Will had almost forgotten he was there.

"Woah, who's we?" Will replied. "You're not going anywhere."

"What? But this is the creature that destroyed my planet, killed my people! I…"

Spectre noticed the girls looking at his hands, and he followed their gaze to see a bright red glow coming from each one. In panic, he shook his arms wildly until the glow disappeared.

"Case in point." Will said. "You can't even control your power here, I doubt you'll be able to control it when you're screaming for revenge."

"But I can still help. I can control my power, I know…" Spectre began in vain.

"I appreciate what you want to do, but the odds are long enough as it is. The last thing I need is you going off like a time bomb in the middle of a fight!" Will said, staring Spectre into submission.

The markings of Spectre's mask quivered with counter-arguments, but none of them were voiced. Something about the look in the girl's eye was enough to silence any thoughts he had of arguing.

"Alright then, the rest of us need to suit up." Will said. "It's time to go."

Meirz

"We're here because we have to try." Will said. "Something. Anything. But this can't be allowed to continue."

"Well it's not going to stop if we just sit around staring at some dumb lake." Cornelia said.

The girls followed Will's cue and took to the skies. As they soared over mountains and plains, the story remained the same. The ground was scorched brown, with not a blade of green to be found. They flew for several minutes, before Hay Lin silenced the group with a hasty hush.

"I hear something on the air." Hay Lin said, hand cupped to her ear. "It sounds like… screaming."

"Let me guess, we're heading towards the screaming?" Irma said, shoulders slumped.

"We always do." Will replied.

With a burst of speed, the group followed Hay Lin, until they reached what appeared to be a large city, similar to the ones on Meridian. Fires burned throughout the streets, but the crackling wood did little to cover the screams coming from the city center.

Cornelia was the first to catch sight of a small group of people huddled against a broken wall. The object of their torment was a wave of black creatures steadily approaching their position. Cornelia quickly landed on the ground and erected a large stone wall between predator and prey. Taranee followed this up with a wave of fire, destroying the black creatures.

"Wait! Look!" Matt shouted, landing next to Taranee.

Taranee did look, first at the family huddling next to the wall, and then at the black creatures, whose reinforcements had arrived. Both had the same, small bodies covered in thick hair from head to toe. The only difference was the hue. The creatures were pitch black, while the terrified civilians were all various colors.

"You're saying these creatures are the people of this planet?" Taranee said.

"Far as we can tell, yeah." Matt replied. "So avoid killing them if you can. But don't let them touch you either. One touch and my wing was shot for hours."

"Well we can't do both." Hay Lin said. "These things are everywhere, and non-lethal methods can only do so much."

"They're just a symptom." Taranee said. "We need to stop the root of this problem. Why are these things here at all?"

"Offhand? I'd say he knows something about it." Irma said, pointing up at the sky.

The girls turned Irma's direction just in time to witness a dark figure descending from above. Its features were clouded by the darkened sky, but the texture of his skin was similar to that of the creatures the girls were fighting. Will, of course, had already gone into the air to confront him.

"Who are you? Are you the one responsible for what's happening on this world?" Will demanded once she reached the man's height.

"You are… unique. I have met nothing like you in this incarnation." The man said, studying Will carefully.

Will took the time to get a closer look the man in front of her. He was humanoid for the most part, with large green eyes and only four fingers being the only distinguishing features. His skin was shiny and black, and he was a simple but practical black outfit.

"I'll ask again, who are you?" Will said, hoping the fear within her wasn't translated in her voice.

"I am known by many names on many worlds." The man answered.

"How about you cut to the chase and give me a name I'll know." Will said.

"Patience my dear, patience. Trust me, no one has more of it then I do." The man replied. "You may call me Death."

"Dea- Really? Death?" Will said, slightly taken aback.

"Did I just hear we're fighting Death?" Hay Lin said as the others joined Will in the air.

"Got to be honest, not okay with that." Cornelia added.

"It's just a name guys. I don't think he means the literal embodiment Death." Will said, before turning back to the man. "Uh, do you?"

"Yes." Death said calmly.

"Yeah, well if you're Death, I guess that makes us life." Irma said defiantly.

"No, I've met Life. None of you are her." Death replied. "And Death is not my name or my title, it merely is me. A simple statement of my existence. It is who I am, and what I bring is it's sweet release."

"Then these creatures down there? Are they all…?" Matt said.

"They are the beings I have helped, yes." Death said. "Transformed into their pure energy forms upon their release from their mortal coil. A much more peaceful existence, I'm sure you'll find. And once in this state, they are mine to lead."

"But… They were alive! You've killed them all?" Taranee stammered, stunned by this information.

"Yes I killed them all, that's what I just said." Death answered, beginning to look annoyed. "Typical of you living beings to not listen. Imagine my horror when I returned to find life rampant through out the universe like an unchecked plague."

"But life is not a plague! It's precious, and to be protected!" Hay Lin argued.

"You sound just like my sister." Death said with a sigh. "How tiresome. It's always much simpler when you have passed on. Then you understand."

"Um, speaking of that, why aren't we dead? You didn't hesitate to kill all of them, I'm sure." Will said. "Not that I'm complaining."

"Actually, I was wondering that myself. You should have died long before now." Death said. "Something is protecting you from my aura. Without further information, I'd hazard a guess that it is the strange glowing object around you neck."

Will grimaced and instinctively looked down. She had tried to hide it, but the Heart was getting heavier and hotter with each passing second, and its increasing glow could not be hidden.

"No matter. Soon I will breach it." Death said, turning his back on the girls.

"Now wait just a second." Will said. "We will defend life to the end. We will stop you."

Death paused, before slowly turning back around.

"Please, you play a game with rules you cannot hope to grasp. You are not fit to even be pieces on our board, let alone a player. Stop, before you find there are fates far worse then life or death."

"Sorry, not an option!" Cornelia said.

With a wave, Cornelia shot a stone block the size of a house up from the ground directly under Death. He didn't have a chance to react before the stone hit him squarely, exploding into a cloud of dust. However, when the dust had settled, Death remained, his posture and expression unchanged.

Taranee was next to go, launching a torrent of white-hot flame at the man, until the air itself crackled with heat. After almost a minute of this, the flame receded, and Death remained. Next, Irma and Hay Lin used both of their powers at once, sending Death from a burning state to a frozen one. Without moving a muscle, the man shattered his icy prison, sending Irma and Hay Lin flying backwards.

"Please, there is no point in this." The man said, staring at Will.

"We're not done yet." Will said through gritted teeth.

Summoning all she could muster, Will fired a blast of quintessence energy at Death. For the first time, the man twitched, ever so slightly as the blast hit. It wasn't much, but it was enough to give Will hope.

"How… irritating." The man said, anger in his voice. "You still pose no threat, but power like that will serve me well. Your time has come."

Before Will could move, twin black beams shot out of Death's chest, aimed directly at Will. Will braced for impact, but none came. Instead, a pink shield of energy appeared in front of her, protecting her from the blast.

"Most curious." Death said calmly, continuing to fire the beams.

Will wasn't quite sure what was going on, but she retaliated with a shot of her own, channeling her energy into Death. Matt and the rest of the girls followed suit, attacking with everything they had. Nothing had any effect.

Will watched with increasing alarm as black tendrils began snaking their way through her shield. As more and more advanced, she could feel the air grow cold around her. Her limbs began going dumb, and her eyelids fluttered.

"Will!"

Will snapped back to attention at the sound of Matt's voice. The battle was lost, she was wise enough to know that. The only thing they could do now was live to fight the war. Thinking quickly, and as the black wisps of energy continued to advance, she grabbed the heart and slashed through the air. A fold appeared in front of her, cutting off the beams. The girls didn't need to be told what the plan was. As quickly as they could, they dove through the fold and back to Earth, Will leaving only when everyone else was clear. The man called Death watched with bemused interest as the Guardians disappeared from sight, safe for now.