A/N: This chapter is heavily focused on exposition of the history of the Guardians, as well as how their abilities work. While the explanations below should be more than satisfactory, if you need to ask me any questions about this sort of thing, feel free to do so.


#12: TWELVE HUNDRED CAGED INSECTS

"I will hold a video call with you and your friends tomorrow during your spare time," the professor told Double D. "I expect I can explain what this crystal does."

Mitsumi laid awake in bed, staring up at the ceiling. Hours had passed, and insomnia had its hold on her. She looked over to Double D. He slept soundly. It didn't make sense to her. All that had happened lately, and everything she had seen—that was his life. Yet she was the one that laid awake, deep in thought about the nature of the universe. This complicated everything she ever knew. Was there a supernatural realm? Was this just another part of the natural realm that had not yet been mapped? Was there a God who had granted them divine blessings, or were they a celestial mistake?

She took comfort in knowing that tomorrow would bring some answers, as he had called his professor friend the previous night to schedule a video conference with what she had taken to calling Edd's "inner circle." She would be joining the group, along with Jack Carpenter and the guy with the fire extinguisher (Randy, if she remembered right). She yawned and proceeded to the bathroom, where she began to freshen up. It would be an enlightening and exciting day, and there was no chance of her getting any sleep.


Jacob kicked the punching bag, again and again. Each kick was more intense than the last. It spiraled around from the force of the kicks. Again, again, again. It picked up momentum until it became so dangerously fast that stepping into its path would be as destructive as jumping into interstate traffic. Jacob silently reared back and elbowed the punching back to the left before spinning around and kicking the punching bag off its hook.

Slow clapping echoed from the shadows in the corner of the room, as Jacob heard, "Nice work, as usual."

"Thank you, Superior," Jacob replied, bowing.

"The bowing thing you do is a little unnecessary," said the Superior.

"So is hiding in the shadows like that," replied Jacob. The Superior chuckled.

"Fair enough," said the Superior. "I see you have definitely grown stronger. Those Guardians of Light will have a run for their money with you around—although at this point I don't suppose I'm saying too much. Gorndt and Nero might disagree."

"Aren't they supposed to be holding back?" asked Jacob. "I remember you telling them not to kill the Guardians."

"Yes, I suppose I did," said the Superior. "Though I suspect Gorndt for one has actually made the effort. He just can't help himself. The twisted little shit loves a good murder."

"Why are we not killing them, if you don't mind me asking?" Jacob asked.

"They're still awakening," said the Superior. "As you are well aware, killing a Guardian at this point just causes someone else to awaken with their powers. It's just kind of pointless to kill them when they'll just come right back. It's like pulling weeds, I suppose. I don't really garden so I wouldn't know."

"It'd still set the Guardians of Light back, wouldn't it? The new Guardian would have to learn all the techniques that the old Guardian already knew. They'd be weaker," said Jacob.

"You are correct," said the Superior. "It'd be all the more efficient if you could tell where the newfound Guardian would appear, so you could just kill the new one whenever." He paused for a minute, the corners of his mouth slowly forming a devious smile. "Want to see what I've been working on?"

"Uh," Jacob paused. "Sure." He didn't really know what to expect. The Superior extended his hand and snapped his fingers. A hole was torn in space itself, and a beautiful swirling portal of stars and purple galaxies appeared right there in the room. Jacob was motioned through the portal, just large enough that he didn't even have to duck. The Superior was always strangely considerate like that.

The both of them appeared on the other side of the portal, and it was relatively dark. The Superior's hand lit up like a torch, and Jacob saw just how large the room around them was. It was a dull, gray room of stone bricks that extended for a good mile. There were a few box lanterns dangling from the ceiling by chains, and one by one the Superior ignited them with only his thoughts. That was when Jacob heard the crying. It started slowly at first, and soon it enveloped the whole entire room. He looked along the walls, and then he noticed the wooden doors set into the stone. There had to be hundreds of them.

"What is this?" asked Jacob.

"Welcome, Jacob," said the Superior. "This is the prison in the center of the Earth. It's poetic, isn't it? It's hell, more or less. And I am the devil presiding over it."

"A prison?" asked Jacob. "Who for?"

"Twelve hundred caged insects," replied the Superior. "Observe." He snapped his fingers, and the walls and doors seemed to disappear, making the room appear much bigger. Shackled to the walls were various people of varying ages, mostly teenaged, and just over half female. They were all barely clothed, and covered in dirt.

"Oh my god…" muttered Jacob. "What is this all for? How do they stay alive?"

"If you'll look closely, you will see a bowl of dog food and a bowl of water in each cell's floor," said the Superior. It was true. "It's a bit of a stretch, but they can reach. I've constructed a golem of crystallized Guardian energy to bring them their food and water every day. I call him Doggy. Say hi to Doggy." A fairly fat creature had appeared at Jacob's side when he didn't notice. He had red colored skin, and looked almost like a chubby dog on two legs. He appeared to be smiling.

"Uh, hi Doggy," said Jacob. Doggy's smile grew.

"As for what this is for," started the Superior. "The power of a killed Guardian will only travel a certain distance if it can help it, and to someone without Guardian powers. Being in the center of the Earth, you are now looking at the only people for miles."

"Are they all Guardians?" asked Jacob.

"Of course not!" the Superior said. "There's one in here somewhere. Once a month I come along to find the needle in the haystack, and melt it down."

"And how do you do that?"

"Like this," he said. There was a panel on a nearby wall, and the Superior pushed a button in the center of it. The panel quickly opened up, and a microphone protruded from within. He took it in hand.

"Hello again everyone," said the Superior. "I hope you've all had a fun month, but it's that time again." There were quite a few screams of terror at his words. "Let's speak up or face the flames."

"Face the flames?" asked Jacob.

"You'll like this part," said the Superior to Jacob, mic against his chest. He put it back to his mouth and said, "No one? Well. I guess we're off." Jacob got chills upon hearing the next scream of anticipation. The Superior pressed another button on the console, and suddenly flames were ignited in the corner of each cell. These flames slowly began to inch closer to the prisoners.

"I'M THE GUARDIAN!" someone screamed from a nearby room.

"And we have a winner," said the Superior. He pressed the button again, and sprinklers went off in each of the cells. The fires went out, and most of the prisoners were safe for the foreseeable future. The Superior turned off the sprinklers, put the mic away, and strolled to the door of the screaming prisoner. The Superior snapped his fingers, and the walls reappeared around them. He threw open the door of the particular prisoner and stepped inside.

"Benjamin, was it?" asked the Superior.

"Yes…" answered the boy. He had to be no older than thirteen.

"Let's see your power in action then," said the Superior. The boy said nothing.

"He could have been lying, sir," said Jacob.

"He should know better," said the Superior. "At this point, they die either way." Benjamin looked very afraid, quivering in his shackles. He took in a big gulp of air.

"Insect Power!" he said. His clothes turned into a solid green cardigan and black tights. "Minimize!" He began to shrink down to size, the shackles becoming very loose on his wrists.

"Maximize," said the Superior, stopping the boy from shrinking and trapping him in the shackles once again. He chuckled and said, "You should know better than to try to escape after last month. It's so much more painful when you do." The Superior snapped his fingers, creating a portal in the room just next to himself. He reached through the portal, and pulled a can of gasoline from within. Benjamin began screaming once again.

"Minimize! Minimize! Minimize!"

"Maximize," the Superior said, cancelling his ability. He sprinkled the gasoline all over Benjamin. "Now, I'm not sure where you learned that trick, but I'm sure you understand now that your actions were poorly chosen. At least I can promise you that you will never make such a mistake again."

"Minimize!" screamed Benjamin, beginning to speak. The Superior wordlessly conjured a ball of fire in his hand, and then threw it at Benjamin. Benjamin screamed as he was set alight, though the fire progressively shrank with him, and his screams grew quieter as he neared the floor. The Superior returned the gas can to its previous location and dispersed the portal, walking away from the smoking pile of ash.

"You can see how important it is to me that we finish the fight this time around," said the Superior.


"Hurry it up, Professor! It's been an hour! Are you ready yet?" Eddy asked, as the conference room Hanton gave the group permission to use filled with all the Guardians. The screen on the wall showed Professor Stanley, in his lab in the attic.

"One minute, Eddy, I'm waiting for my tea!" the professor replied.

"Can't it wait?" wondered Eddy.

"Now this will be a lengthy talk, and I'm not starting without my tea," Stanley said. "STEVE! STEEEEEEEEEEEEVE!"

"Who's Steve?" asked Marudo.

"Steve is my new assistant," replied the professor.

"Assistant? What do you need an assistant for?" Marudo bugged.

"Do you know how hard this kind of stuff gets at my age?" Professor Stanley puzzled.

"And just how old are you, professor?" Marudo questioned.

Professor Stanley chuckled and said, "Well anyway, let's get started!"

"What about your tea?" Eddy wondered.

"Did I ask for tea?"

"Yeah," Eddy reminded. "You asked Steve for tea!"

"Steve? Who's that?"

"Your new assistant!" Eddy yelled.

"My dear boy, I don't need an assistant. I'm Professor Stanley," boasted the professor.

"Right..." mumbled Eddy.

"So, you wondered about the crystal," Stanley said.

"Yes sir, I did," Double D said, nodding from across the table.

"Well, hold it up! Let me see!" the professor said. Edd did so. "Closer! Closer! Closer, boy! I'm old!"

"How old?" Eddy asked.

"Hmm, that is a strange crystal," Stanley said. "It looks to me like fossilized Guardian energy."

"Guardian energy?" Double D asked.

"Yes, looks like it," the professor hypothesized. "Now, you need some background information."

"It's about time we heard some background information," Marudo smirked.

"The Guardians of Light, five thousand years ago, give or take a few, were some beings of unknown origins. Like you, they controlled certain elements. Unfortunately, there were, even in those times, Guardians of Evil. And they almost won."

"What?" Eddy was shocked. "No way! These chumps haven't beat us yet!"

"Don't underestimate them," Professor Stanley said. "They grow stronger as you do."

"What?" Double D responded.

"Yes," Stanley replied. "The more Guardians awaken, the more powerful the entirety becomes. There are three of you now. You have fifteen more powers to awaken."

"So what about the Elemental Stones?" Double D asked. "Eddy's abilities have multiplied remarkably since he came into possession of his respective stone."

"The Elemental Stones are a bit of a mystery still. They empower the holder should they share the same element. Finding all of them is essential. If the Evil Guardians possess them, they will be just short of unbeatable. You need to unite them all and bring them to the Tower of the Guardians."

"Tower of the Guardians?" Double D questioned.

"Yes, it's a big tower. Unfortunately, no one knows where it is."

"Then how are we supposed to find this tower?" Eddy asked.

"Beats me! Anyway, you bring them to the tower, and at the top, you can draw the power of the original Guardians of Light and seal away the evils you face."

"You keep mentioning these original Guardians," Eddy pointed out. "Why didn't they just finish this stuff themselves?"

"They had to give up."

"What?"

"The Evil Guardians were just too strong. They had collected sixteen of the Elemental Stones, though they could not find the Spirit Elemental Stone. It was a pain to find, really. For one thing, you can't pick it up! It's ghostly! Ooh!"

"Then how are we supposed to get it?" Eddy asked.

"Who knows?! I'll try to come up with something later. ANYWAY! Back to the subject of the crystal. That energy is remains of certain attacks. For example, if Ed creates a rock in the present, thousands of years after he's dead, that rock will turn into one of the crystals. From what I've gathered, they contain quite a bit of power. They can maintain artificially made lifeforms, such as that one you faced just yesterday. I'm led to believe the crystals get along quite well."

"Get along?" Double D asked.

"Yes. Whenever two of them get close to each other, they will attempt to move towards each other. The more gathered, the stronger the pull gets. This is because the original Guardians were connected in a sense. They were all descendants of a shared ancestor, whose power is a mystery to me. It must have been a strong one, to give off all that power. But I digress. The Guardians were very close to one another, so close that they created some source of power inside a tall tower."

"This tower you want us to find?" Double D asked.

"That's the one! The tower was the home of their power source, and their connection. When the Guardians chose to Rest and reincarnate themselves, the power source no longer had a host, and it broke. The remains of the power source, I like to call it The Heart, filled the air. Every little remain the Guardians left behind, every pebble, every feather, was located by The Heart. It began this process of turning the items to crystals. And, today, it still lingers in the air, fossilizing everything your powers create. These crystals can be dangerous, though."

"Yeah, I know," Eddy said. "Where'd that thing come from?"

"Someone made it," Stanley replied. "I have no idea who. Probably the Evil Guardians, I don't know for sure. There are people with knowledge of the crystals who search for them in hopes of creating their own creations. Whether or not they have good intentions makes no difference, as the creatures always go bad."

"Why?" Mitsumi asked.

"Well, because the creators aren't there anymore. They really don't like the new Guardians of Light. They want the originals. While you are the Guardians because you possess the traits like those which the originals had, you are not the same people. When they find out the originals are nowhere to be found, something in the crystals make them go mad. They want to kill you."

"So what do we do?" Mitsumi wondered.

"Defeat them if they bother you," Stanley suggested. "They aren't nearly as strong as the Guardians."

"Got that right!" Eddy said. The professor looked down at his watch and glanced around his room.

"Hm, was there anything else I needed to cover?" he asked. "Steve! STEEEEEEEEVE! IS THAT IT?! STEVE!"

"There is no 'Steve', Professor," Marudo said.

"Is too! Steve is my assistant!" Professor Stanley insisted. "Steve? Answer, Steve! This is getting old!"

"You are too!" Eddy said.

"I am not! Do you have any idea how young I am?" he retorted, running his fingers through his graying hair.

"No, I don't," Eddy replied. "How young?" Professor Stanley coughed.

"Right, that's everything," he said. "You can all go. I must speak to Double D." Mitsumi glanced at Edd.

"I'll be done soon," he assured her. She nodded with a gentle smile and followed the others out of the room.

"Marudo, I meant for you to leave, too," the professor said. Marudo grumbled and hovered out the door. Jack, waiting at the door, shut it behind the Defender.

"So, Edd, what's been troubling you?" the professor asked.

"I'd like to know if there is a way for a Guardian to give away their powers to another," Double D said.

"No, I'm afraid not," the professor answered. "Why would you want to know that?" Double D hung his head slightly and bit his lip before responding.

"I'm not sure I'm cut out for this," he answered.

"Oh, nonsense! Why would you think that?"

"Well, it's just that Randy had to save me from Nero, and when we fought over the stone Eddy and Ed did everything. Also, that creature from yesterday bested me before it did anyone else."

"You're still new to this," the professor said. "Water isn't the most powerful of elements, of course. But it is everywhere, and it's almost inspiring how it, along with the sun, is the basis of all known life in the universe. You are definitely meant for this. Nobody in the world is more like the original Water Guardian than you. That's why you were picked. The second you were born, the spirit of the Water Guardian that was lingering remembered the first Guardian's traits, and then knew it was meant to be at your control."

"What was the Water Guardian like?" Double D wondered.

"Water was the wisest of all existing beings at that time, maybe all time. And let's be fair, you're brilliant, Edd. Of course, Water lacks the raw power of most elements. Water made it work, though. Water worked hard enough to be one of three Guardians of Light strong enough to hold their own against their counterparts despite the impressive disadvantage."

"And you believe I can live up to that?"

"Remember what I said about Water being wise? Well, Water chose you. I feel that if any Guardian knew what they were doing, it was him. You can do this. If you'd like, I could bring you my journal of the information I have gathered on Water. I'll be in Edgemar to attend your graduation, and I hear you're quite the reader."

Double D smiled. "I would love that!"

TO BE CONTINUED


In the next chapter... We hear more out of the Guardians of Evil.

A/N: Well, we made it through that! Double D also got some necessary character development. The next chapter should be much more fun to read; it's a change of pace!