A/N: After that short break in the plot, we're back to Celestia! Starting in this chapter, the wizards will be splitting into groups, which will hopefully help me spend more time developing each character and his/her relationships with the other characters. I'm going to pay extra attention to characterization and interactions in this story, since I didn't do a great job with that stuff in DoFS.

Thanks to anyone who left a review! :) :) In response to said reviews:

NightSkyWolves: You are correct xD Also, water-moles are adorable. :D

BuBuWinter: If you say so ... O_o

DawnShadowQueen: Why, thank you! :) I'm not sure whether or not I mentioned this; I'm planning on doing filler chapters every ten chapters to clear up a few things I haven't explained very well in the normal plotline (such as Bat's healing, which I completely forgot about ... XD)

Lewascan2: Why, thank you! :) Congrats on almost finishing Dragonspyre! (Unless you have by now ... xD)

HawaiianDemons: :) :)

JessicaRavenGlade: Thank you! :D I would be happy to read and review your stories sometime; I'll do that as soon as I can :)

Many thanks to my fantabulous beta reader, Rebecca Ripple! :D

Since I haven't done one of these in awhile, I shall make up for it by doing the best disclaimer any of you have ever seen EVER. It shall be so epic that it must be written in third person, and it will be the most epic disclaimer ever written. So there. xD

DISCLAIMER: Firestorm walked along the sidewalk, looking completely innocent and whistling slightly off-key. When no one was looking, however, she quickly darted into a phone booth and pulled on a ninja mask and a spy suit. She then teleported to the KingsIsle headquarters (wherever the heck THOSE are) using her super awesome magical powers granted by the fact that she is in control of the keyboard and has a bizarre imagination. She darted into the building, humming the Mission Impossible theme song. Firestorm crept into the room where the Rights to Owning Wizard101 were kept and broke into the (surprisingly) unguarded case. She grabbed the Rights to Owning Wizard101 and ran from the premises- only to be met at the door by Alexandra Firesong and Moira Moonchaser. For no apparent reason, the two had decided to work together without arguing on that particular day. Firestorm squeaked in fear upon seeing the two very angry, very dangerous and very creepy Necromancers. She ran as fast as she could, but alas! The awesomeness of Firestorm's ninja mask and spy suit quickly wore off, and she tripped over a conveniently placed tree root. "Rats!" She cried, as the Rights to Owning Wizard101 went flying- right into the hands of Alex, who magically sent them back to KingsIsle using her wizard powers of awesomeness. Firestorm was then dragged off to jail, where she would spend the rest of her miserable life writing measly fan fictions, playing video games and pouting about the fact that she knew she had absolutely no life. Alexandra and Moira were hailed as heroes and laughed in Firestorm's face as she rotted away in jail- until the next time a disclaimer was needed, when Firestorm would break free to attempt to steal the Rights to Own Wizard101 again ...

*Dusts off hands* I bet you've never seen a disclaimer quite as long and epic as that one. *Smug smile*

I sat in a circle with eight other people. Four were my friends, and four were newer acquaintances. We were planning how to go about finding the Star, the Sun and the Moon of Celestia- and unfortunately, no one really had any ideas.

"We could always find one of Morganthe's minions to interrogate," Evan suggested.

"Nah. Too obvious," Luke replied in a bored tone of voice. Evan shot him a chilly glare, and I rolled my eyes. I knew that Evan didn't exactly approve of my boyfriend, which in turn caused Luke's chilliness, but I got tired of their constant glaring and arguing.

"Well, the minion we end up catching probably won't know much. After all, it's not like an evil mastermind would divulge her plans to the lowest members of her army, and we're probably not gonna catch anyone more important," Erica pointed out.

"True …" the Pyromancer agreed reluctantly.

"Why don't we go and ask around, see if the locals know anything?" Destiny offered her idea in a quieter tone, but it was quickly shot down by a very grumpy looking Steven Frostthistle.

"Oh, naturally. I love the subtlety of that plan. I can see it now: About forty wizards go strolling through Celestia and start asking about this world's most important relics. Obviously not one of Morganthe's spies will notice that," he snapped sarcastically. Chase glared at the Necromancer.

"Steven," she hissed under her breath. Steven's expression didn't change much, but I could have sworn he seemed a little less angry when he glanced at her. Rebecca frowned.

"How about we just stop fighting and figure out what to do?" The Theurgist asked. Mark nodded.

"Rebecca's right; there's no way of knowing just how long we have until Morganthe attacks us again, and we have to get moving if we're going to make any progress at all. This is the best shot we've had in years; can we please not waste it?"

"I've got an idea." I finally spoke up, looking around at the other wizards who were going to help me lead the force to stop Morganthe. They stopped arguing and turned to face me. "If we split into groups- maybe three or four- there will be less of us in one place. If there are forty wizards asking around about the Celestian relics, that's definitely going to draw attention from Morganthe's spies. If there are only eight or so wizards asking about the relics …"

"Less obvious, draws less attention, we're less likely to be noticed by Morganthe," Luke finished, giving me a faint grin. "Sounds like a good plan." I smiled gratefully at him.

"Any idea where we should start first?" Mark asked. I shrugged.

"We should probably figure out where the Stellarium, Lunarium and Solarium are."

"I have a map," Erica offered, holding out a large sheet of paper. The nine of us crowded around it. "What if two of the groups go to the Science Center while the other two go to the Survey Camp? Those are the two closest areas to the Base Camp, not to mention the most populated."

"We can ask around a little bit and do some of the searching on our own," Destiny noted.

"That's a great idea, Erica!" Rebecca smiled at the Thaumaturge, who gave her a lopsided grin in return.

"Four groups it is. Who should lead them?"

"Definitely you and Mark," Chase said immediately. "I don't know a ton about you, Alex, but I've heard stories about your last quest. Mark's a great leader; he does a lot better at leading than the rest of us do." She grinned good-naturedly.

"Okay, and how about Tyler? He's the most powerful wizard here, and I'm guessing he at least knows the area a little bit, since he worked here for so long."

"As long as he agrees, that sounds like a good idea," Mark replied. "Chase, you should be the fourth group leader." The Sorceress looked at him in surprise.

"How come?"

"Well, you're level-headed and intelligent, along with being very organized and efficient." The Conjurer shrugged. "You're the most logical decision." Chase grinned.

"Thanks, Mark."

"No problem."

-V-

It took us a full hour to decide who would be in which group. I'd had no idea how difficult it was to put together four good, functioning groups of people that wouldn't all want to kill each other. For instance, I knew that Evan would want to be with his brother, and Lionel wouldn't want to be separated from Cassie, his best friend. I also knew that while Sabrina would want to be with Kestrel (her new best friend) and her cousin, she and Moira would kill each other if they ended up in the same group. It was a complicated process, but I had a feeling that everyone would be satisfied in the end.

I, personally, was very happy with my group. I'd ended up with Luke (naturally), Destiny, Evan, Lionel and Cassie. Rebecca Dreamhunter was also put into my group, as was Tupa Taua's crazy daughter. I would be going with Tyler's group to the Survey Camp, and his group consisted of Sabrina, Kestrel, Ashley, her younger sister Tiffany, the Conjurer named Kayla Dragonstaff, and two of Mark's good friends: Eric Wyrmblood and Austin Spiritdreamer. Chase and Mark would lead their groups to the Science Center. We announced our decision to the group, got packed up and made plans to leave the next morning for underwater Celestia.

-V-

Obviously, being attacked by crazed water spirits was not the ideal start to my morning- however, Tapa Tupa was able to explain their anger to us.

"Spirits angry 'bout statue missings," the water-mole told us. "Three Triton statues once live here; they stolen by bad-bad Morganthe. They angry until we find statues and bring back here."

"I guess we'll have to keep our eyes out for them," Destiny said sincerely.

After our morning duel with the water spirits, we piled into the elevator and traveled down to the Celestia Base Camp, where we parted ways. Chase and Mark led their groups straight across the Base Camp while Tyler and I turned to the left and continued towards a series of copper tunnels. I couldn't help but shiver as we passed through the large tunnels; it was a frightening thought that only a foot or so of copper stood between us and the entire weight of an ocean. If that thing broke … I shivered again, forcing myself to abandon the thoughts and focus on our mission.

I could hear voices echoing through the tunnels from somewhere ahead of us. As we approached, I could make out the words:

"...and you're just telling me this now? Reuben, this is grave news! Any delay in fixing this problem could be catastrophic!" A Marleybonian-accented voice was saying. I stepped around the bend and came face to face with two people.

One was a German Shepherd dressed in clothing that was undoubtedly Marleybonian, but considerably less elegant and fancy than what I'd seen before. His loose fitting clothes and dark brown coat were clearly made for function rather than fashion, and he carried a large bag over his shoulder. His companion wore a large, rotund metal suit with a massive helmet, and he (or was it a she?) was completely hidden within the suit.

"Who are you?" The suited figure demanded, brandishing a large wrench. I held up my hands to show that I meant no harm.

"My name is Alexandra Firesong, and these are some of my friends. Is everything okay?"

"I am Dalton Prescott, and this is my associate, Reuben Yates. Regrettably, we have just discovered a very severe problem: Morganthe's filthy army has been tampering with the dome recently, and leaks have begun to spring." I gulped.

"Uh …do you have any idea why they might be trying to break the dome open?" I asked hesitantly, remembering what I'd been thinking only moments before.

"As a matter of fact, we do. They are attempting to force us all to surrender- although I would suspect it has something to do with you."

"Us?"

"Yes. You are the wizards sent by Headmaster Ambrose, correct? The ones who are working to overthrow Morganthe?"

"That's right."

"Morganthe wants nothing more than to get rid of all resistance in Celestia, so she is attempting to either destroy this place or make you wizards surrender to her."

"Never." It was Tyler who spoke up this time, glaring fiercely at Dalton Prescott. "We won't ever surrender to Morganthe, no matter what she does to us."

"Mr. Prescott, do you need any help fixing the domes?" Destiny interrupted, glaring at Tyler.

"Thank you, young wizards, but I don't believe we'll require any assistance with the repairs. If you could teach those ruffians a lesson and keep them from ruining the domes, however, I would greatly appreciate it." I glanced at Tyler, and the two of us held a silent conversation with our eyes. I was the one who finally responded.

"We can do that. Any idea where Morganthe's army is?"

"She has a large group of sharks stationed here, in the Survey Camp. If you continue along the promenade for a short while, you should see them on the lower level. There are a few ramps you can use to get there once you find their whereabouts."

"Okay. Thanks, sir." As we traveled through the large, copper tunnels (in which I noticed several leaks, and shuddered) Ashley made her way to the front of the group and began walking beside me. "What's up, Ash?"

"I'm worried about Tiffany," the Thaumaturge said after a moment, referring to her fifteen year old sister. "She was determined to come on this quest and help fight Morganthe, but she's not ready. Tiff isn't ready to battle monsters and see the horrors of war. She doesn't deserve that." I was silent for a while, trying to decide how to respond.

"I don't know what I can say, Ashley," I finally said. "No one is ever ready to see the kind of things we've seen. The best you can do is try to shield her from the worst of it and keep her out of the biggest battles. If it ends up being necessary, you can get her to go back to Wizard City, where it's safe." My friend shrugged half heartedly.

"If you say so." She didn't seem entirely convinced, but anything else she was going to say was drowned out by the sudden sounds of fighting. I drew my cutlass, and Ashley gripped her wand tighter. The large snowflake-crystal on the top glowed slightly, and I knew that it had grown cold to the touch. The other members of the group readied their weapons, and we ran towards the source of the sound.

When I looked over the railing of the promenade, I saw a large group of sharks- there had to be at least thirty of them, and they were all armed to the teeth- fighting two wizards- yes, two. One wore light green, and the other was dressed almost entirely in black. They seemed to be holding their own fairly well, but I knew that two wizards couldn't fight thirty sharks on their own. I jumped over the railing and ran down the ramp to help them- and I noticed Sabrina's startled expression when she looked at the boy dressed in green.

His hair was the exact same shade of green as Sabrina's- dark, almost olive green. When he turned our way, I noticed that his face looked strangely like her's, too. Their robes were identical, they fought with identical staffs, and each wore the same expression of surprise.

"You have the same staff as me," my Theurgist friend said, whacking a shark over the head with the staff in question, stunning it long enough for me to drive the point of my cutlass into the shark's stomach.

"You have the same robe as me," the unfamiliar boy replied, raising an eyebrow at Sabrina as he delivered two fast, sharp blows to another shark's wrist, knocking a spear out of its hand.

"I didn't know anyone else knew that move," Sabrina said in wonder as the other Theurgist attacked the shark fiercely with his staff.

"I made it up."

"No, I made it up!"

"You can't possibly have made up that move, because I made up that move!"

"Who are you?" Sabrina finally yelled in exasperation.

"Adrian Jadeleaf!"

A/N: I betcha weren't expecting that, were you? ;D