Here is the next chapter of War for Meridian's Throne. I would like to thank Knight for betaing and would also like to thank him for reviewing along with Wilhelmina Vandom and Philip Gipson for reviewing.

Disclaimer: I don't own W.I.T.C.H., wish I did but I don't.

Sleepovers and Family Reunions

"So this is what it's like to come here without being attacked," Irma commented in her usual joking manner, as both she and Hay Lin were led through the palace by Will and her mother.

Will giggled at her friend's joke while Susan resisted the urge to roll her eyes. The woman could tell that if these two, mainly Irma, came to the palace often, the Queen was going have to need earplugs.

'A person can only take so many jokes a day and this girl seems to find a joke in everything! I'm not sure if I should be impressed or worried Will can handle it so well.' Susan thought dryly as she led the girls to a place where they could speak in private.

They eventually came to a room that overlooked the royal gardens and there was a small table with chairs for the group to sit."Please girls, have a seat and we talk about this sleepover you want to have. From what I can tell, you wish to have it on Earth. Is there a specific reason for this, or is there a way we could have it here instead?" Susan asked as the gestured for the girls to take a seat.

"That would be great if we could, but Hay Lin's parents call every fifteen minutes. Unless Hay Lin gets a cell phone plan that extends to Meridian, they are going to think she has been kidnapped or something." Irma replied for the pair, which had Susan raise an eyebrow in confusion.

"What's a cell phone?" Susan asked, while Will tried to decide if she should be embarrassed or not by her mother's lack of knowledge of things from Earth. "It's something people use to talk to each other from long distances away mom." Will explained in hope of answering her mother's question quickly enough so they get back to talking about the sleep over.

Will felt very excited to be able to go on one. In her old life, Will never even had friends or even get invited to come to a sleepover, so she really wanted this to work out and see what it was like.

Susan glanced at her daughter for a moment, noting the subtle enthusiasm in her voice. This made the Queen realize that this was important to Will and the older woman knew she needed to somehow make this work. 'I still want to know what this sleepover thing is first before I say yes, but if it makes Will feel excited it can't be so bad' Susan thought as she tried to find out about this little plan of the Air and Water Guardians.

"Okay, so from what you're saying, Meridian is ruled out for this 'sleepover' of yours. Tell me; exactly what this little get-together does, because I can't see you having much fun just sleeping." Susan requested, hoping to get a little more information.

"Well despite being called a sleepover, most people don't get much of that. We focus of food, movies and gossip." Hay Lin answered the Queen, who seemed a bit confused at the word "movies", but other then that seemed to understand what a sleepover was.

"Well…it does not sound so bad and if Huggles went along I'm sure it would be all right. I doubt you would be attacked in your own homes after all, and the three of you along with Huggles in his transformed state should be able to handle anything that might happen anyway…but Will is going to need to learn how to Glamour before she goes." Susan said after a moment of thinking the idea over.

Irma and Hay Lin were a bit confused by the comment about Huggles being able to transform and the Glamour bit, but were glad to hear Will was allowed to go and so was Will. "How long will it take me to learn how to Glamour? Whatever that is." Will asked, glad she was allowed to go.

"It's hard to say, sweetie. It's like you learning to telatransport and fly with ease, yet you had a harder time learning to use your elemental abilities. It depends if you have a knack for it or if you practice hard to learn it." Susan explained to her daughter then stood up and stepped a few feet away from the table.

"The basic idea is simple though. You call on your magic, imagine what you want to look like and then will it to happen," Susan said and a ring of green light formed around Susan's feet and quickly worked its way upward. After it was done, Susan now looked like a perfect twin of her daughter.

"And that's all there is to it!" The other 'Will' said in a voice that matched the original, Susan then changed back to her original form. While the three girls watched in amazement, Susan continued, "Of course, you don't need to copy an existing person. You could just as easily change yourself to look like a made up person or just alter things like eye, hair and skin color. This way, no one will know it's you, Will, and we can avoid any…unpleasant questions about where you and your 'parents' disappeared to."

The way Irma and Hay Lin heard Susan say the word parents made them worry. It sounded angry and hateful towards the thought of the Vandoms. The fact that Raythor seemed furious with the pair when he was taking them away in chains, also made the two girls wonder what was going on.

"Did the Vandoms do something? Besides take Will from you thirteen years ago I mean.' Irma asked looking clearly worried about what the answer would be.

Susan and Will did not answer right away; both just looked at one another as if having silent conversation, which they were. 'You should tell them Will. They are worried about you and they need to know. They might be able to force the words into the skulls of your other friends and your cousin. Make them see they were wrong in their belief about the Vandoms protecting you and actually hurting you.' Susan told her daughter with a telepathic message.

'I know I should but…it hurts so much to talk about it.' Will replied back, her 'tone' clearly afraid to speak of the horrible times, even to her closets friends.

Susan smiled sadly at her daughter, understanding her reluctance to talk about such things. 'I could tell them if you want. You can go to your room and practice the Glamour skill while I explain things.' Susan suggested and it seemed to help relieve some of her daughter's worry.

'Could…could you really do that? I don't want to be a bother.' Will replied back and got hug from her mother as the older woman's response.

'Your never a bother, Will, now run along and go practice how to Glamour. If you can do at least the basic idea down within an hour you can go to this sleepover. If not we will have to put the plan on hold until you can, okay?' Susan said into the mental link and got a nod form her daughter before she telatransported away.

Irma and Hay Lin just looked on in confusion, since they were out of the loop. "Okay…why do I feel like we missed something?" Irma asked Hay Lin who nodded her head in response. Susan smiled at their antics as she sat and got ready to explain what Will's life had really been like.

---

It took fifteen minutes to explain the story and give the two girls time to absorb the information. "She was suffering for that long and…we never even thought she might be in trouble? What kind of friends are we?!" Irma practically screamed as she slammed her first on the table, while Hay Lin was in tears. They felt like they had failed Will by not noticing the redhead was suffering in such a way.

Susan was glad to know the two deeply cared for her daughter, but knew she needed to nip this train of thought in the bud now before it caused trouble later on. "Now girls I want you to understand something. Will needs your support but you must be careful. People who have suffered like she has don't want pity and sometimes mistake concern for that. So be supportive, but don't bring the subject up unless she wants to. Having you two treat her like you did before you knew will help her a lot more, then when you constantly say you're sorry for things you had no control in, alright?" Susan told the two and they nodded their heads in understanding.

"Don't worry, your highness; we will be there for her whenever we can. It might be hard now that we don't have the rifts…oops! I don't think I'm supposed to mention that." Hay Lin said and clamped her hand over her mouth.

Susan looked confused at what Hay Lin was talking about, Irma on the other hand looked a bit upset, but not at Hay Lin. "So what if those three can't get back and fourth between Earth and Meridian anymore? They deserve it!" Irma stated firmly with arms crossed over her chest.

Susan looked back and forth between the two girls, trying to figure out what they were talking about. "Girls? Is there something I should know?" Susan asked, hoping one of them would answer, which one was glad to oblige.

"I'm surprised you don't already know from Will, but then again she might have been protecting us and Caleb so maybe I shouldn't be. For starters, Phobos has created this thing called a rift. It acts as a way back and forth from Meridian and Earth. It is how we have been getting around since we joined up with the rebellion. Phobos is worried that if you found out about it, you would make it impossible for him to use rifts anymore." Irma explained as she moved to make Phobos and her old friends' lives a living nightmare.

Susan was shocked to hear Phobos had a way other than portals to get between worlds. She knew Will probably had valuable information about the rebellion, but did not want to make her daughter to feel like she was being used to hurt the rebellion, since her friends and the boy she loved were a part of it.

"Well it's good to know this now, thank you…Irma was it? I'll have to see what I can do to put a stop to these rifts once and for all. If we are lucky your friends will be on Earth when I do figure out a way and they will be unable to help for a time. That should weaken the rebels for a little while at least." Susan said to Irma but noticed the Water Guardian was not through.

"Oh I got lots of stuff that would make the rebels' lives miserable. Like the rough location of the rebel base, they keep moving it but if I tell you where thry have been hiding I'm sure you could track it down." Irma stated firmly but then Hay Lin spoke up.

"Irma! Are you forgetting that Caleb is a part of the rebellion?! If you tell her about the Infinite City…me and my big mouth!" Hay Lin started to scold her friend, but then groaned as she realized she had let the cat out of the bag by accident.

Susan was really surprised at this news as she exclaimed, "How did Phobos find it?! The only two people who knew of its location was me and…Jaden must have told him!" This surprised the two Guardians, they did not know Susan already knew of the Infinite City or that this other person Jaden, who ever he was, had known of it as well.

"Who is Jaden?" Hay Lin asked, being the more curious of the two girls. Susan looked at the two sadly as she as she shook her head before saying, "It is a story that Will should be the first to hear in private. All I can say is Jaden was the one to find the Infinite City and later told me about it. You don't have to worry about me using the knowledge of the Infinite city to hurt Caleb; it's not time to strike the rebel base yet. If I did, it would corner Phobos and the rebels and then they would be really dangerous."

Irma and Hay Lin were confused at first when hearing this, but then quickly figured out what the Queen meant. Attacking the rebel base would take away their only hideaway and without that, they would become desperate. Even the most docile animal became dangerous when cornered and the rebellion was far from docile.

"Now, let's go check on Will. With any luck, she has gotten the hang of using a Glamour and can go with you tonight. Even though it can be tricky I'm sure Will should not have too much trouble if she is trying to do something simple." Susan told the girls and they headed off to go check on Will.

---

Will was in her room trying to think of what she should try to look like. Will knew she could not simply just change her hair and eyes color because anyone could easily put in contacts and use hair dye. That meant she needed something simple but looked a lot different then she normally did.

'Let's see…what should I use? Wait I know!' Will thought and tried to start the glamour. Nothing the first few times, but Will finally got something to happen just as she heard a knock at the door.

"Come in" Will answered with her new voice. The door opened to reveal her mother, Irma and Hay Lin. They stared at Will a moment, trying to adjust the new look the girl had chosen. Irma was the first to respond, which meant the comedian was going to have some fun at Will's expense.

"What did you did to Will? Answer me missy or you're in for a soaking!" Irma said as held her hand up like a gun and shot a gentle of stream water at Will's face. It scored a direct hit and caused Will to get a little annoyed.

"Irma, stop that." Will told her friend, but just got another splash in the face.

"Irma, I'm warning you!" Will growled in a warning tone, but Irma ignored at shot Will again.

"Knock it off or else!" Will yelled, loosing patience with the Water Guardian, but got shot for a fourth time and made Will finally snap.

"Quintessence!" Will screamed out and a blast of lighting zapped Irma for a few second. When it stopped Irma looked a little wobbly and her hair was standing on end. Hay Lin was about ask if Irma was okay, when the Water Guardian fell backwards and was staring blankly up at the ceiling.

While Hay Lin tried to revive the fallen joker, Susan looked at her daughter and said, "You might have overdone it, sweetheart." There was a clearly amused smile on the Queen's face, but Will knew her mother was cautioning her on using her powers in such a manner.

"I guess I kind of did." Will replied bashfully, while the older woman admired her daughter's choice of appearance. Her Daughter obviously had been paying attention to some of the old family portraits of when Susan was her daughter's age, because Will looked like an exact copy of those pictures.

Will's normally short red hair was replaced with shoulder length black and Will now had her mother's slightly more tanned skin. Both Will and Susan always had the same basic skin color, but Susan's was shade or two darker then Will's, so it helped give Will a simple disguise without changing too much about her self.

Will had even managed to get a younger sounding version of Susan's voice, so there was no way anyone would think it was Will. Elyon, Caleb, and the other two Guardians might see through the change, but they would not be so foolish to try anything on Earth. If they did though, Susan now knew where the rebels were hiding, so she knew what door to knock on if anything happened to her little girl.

"Well, it seems that you got the hang of using a glamour, Will. I guess that means you can go. You two better go check and see if this little idea of yours is all right with your parents first. I'll open a portal for you." Susan said to her daughter, then to Irma and Hay Lin before willing the portal to appear before the two.

Irma was still looking a little groggy, but looking a lot better than before. This was proven when she looked at Will and said, "And here I thought you were scary when you had super strength. Remind me to stay on your good side." This made the three girls laugh before the other two headed back to Earth to finalize the plans for tonight.

---

Susan left Will to get ready for the trip to Earth, glad to see her daughter so happy. Though she had not been in a condition that worried Susan, she had noticed Will had been a bit depressed at times since coming to Meridian. The Queen of Meridian knew it was because Will was missing her friends, so now that those two were back in her daughter's life the Queen was hoping the depressions would be less frequent.

"Your Highness, the metalsmith is here." Susan heard Raythor's voice say from behind her. Susan was a bit startled by this, but kept herself from jumping and turned to face her second in command.

"Thank you, Raythor. In the rush to get Will and her friends back here I forgot about him. I had my doubts when you said he worked fast, I thought he would have needed more time even if my order was a rather simple one." Susan replied to Raythor who grinned at his Queen's comment.

"Good thing you did not take that bet despite your doubts. I would be happily retiring right now if you had." Raythor said, which caused Susan to laugh as she had the powerful warrior lead the way to the metalsmith they were talking about.

---

In the throne a few minutes later, Susan was inspecting a golden circlet that had several small rubies imbedded in it. This was to act as Will's equivalent to a crown until it was time for her to take her place as Queen. Despite the simplicity, Susan had to admit the craftsmanship was impeccable and thought she should make further use of this man's abilities.

"Most impressive sir. What was your name again?" Susan asked the well-built man who was kneeling before her. "Aketon, your highness." The man replied; sounding a bit nervous at being in the Queen's presence.

"Aketon, I thank you for doing such an excellent job in such a short amount of time. Do you by chance have time to offer your services for a small assignment I need done? It is something that needs to be done fast, but also done well and you are the only metal smith I have seen able to do both." Susan requested as the man looked up at her with a curious expression on his face.

"The underwater mines' tools are in need of repairs. Though mostly criminals work there, it still provides valuable resources the kingdom makes use of, so giving them something decent to work with is beneficial for everyone. You'll be well compensated if you take the job." Susan explained, hoping the man would take the job.

Aketon looked worried at hearing he was being asked to willingly go to that dreadful place, but thought he might be of use to the rebellion if he could act as a go between with the prisoners there and the rebellion, perhaps help organize an uprising there and gain more members to battle the Queen's forces.

"I can spare one week a month, if that is alright with you, your highness." Aketon answered and got a satisfied smile from the Queen. "That would be fine. If possible I would like you to begin at once." Susan said and got a nod of acceptance from Aketon.

"Very good. Raythor, arrange to have Aketon to be taken to the underwater mines at once. Make sure have a guard be near him at all times for his own safety." Susan ordered her second in command and Aketon was led away to go do his new job.

---

Several hours later, Aketon was hard at work repairing a mining pick when he heard a fight break out between three miners. The guard assigned to watch over him went go help break it up, so no one was around when Aketon's shirt get caught in some gears that worked some of the mines' machinery.

"No! Help!" Aketon cried out as he was pulled closer to the gears, when a shovel was brought now to cut Aketon free just in time. "Thank you.' Aketon said to the savoir who was a man with a shaggy beard and only had a pair of badly torn pants for clothing.

Aketon looked at the man for a second and recognized him. "Wait…I know you!" The metal smith exclaimed in a quiet whisper, but before he could speak further the sound of a whip snapping in the air made the two turn to a see guard approaching.

"Hey you! Back to work!" The guard ordered the man with a beard and led him away. Aketon knew he needed to get out of here now and alert the rebels. This was too important to wait a whole week! So Aketon picked up the shovel the bearded man left behind and threw it into the gears that had almost killed him earlier.

The shovel was 'spat' out as is passed through the gears, but it did its task, damaging the machine enough for him to alert the guards that it needed repairs fast or production would come to a stand still.

Unknown to Aketon, the Passling Jeek, had been watching. He had originally come to trade for ore, but this little incident looked much more profitable. The only question was whom should he sell the information to? The Queen or Phobos?

"Queen be best. Metal Smith probably tell rebels so they might not pay Jeek. Queen will though!" Jeek said evilly as he ran off to inform Susan of what he had found out.

---

Back on Earth, Will came through the portal that led to Earth, her old back carrying a few clothes for that night. Will knew she could glamour up anything she needed clothing-wise, but it would have looked strange to come with out pajamas or a change of clothes.

Hay Lin said they were using her families' home/restaurant for the sleep over since it was the safer of the two. Since Irma's dad was a cop, they did not want to risk will getting grilled by Tom Lair if he thought Will looked suspicious.

Will was a bit worried about being near Yan Lin, since the old woman was a former Guardian and might notice the glamour. But Hay Lin assured Will it would be alright and since Hay Lin knew her grandmother better than anyone, who was the redhead to argue?

"Ready to go, Will? What are we supposed to call you while you're on Earth anyway?" Irma asked knowing that if they went around calling Will by her real name, the glamour might not as helpful if they did. It would raise way too many questions.

"Mom suggested something that should work. Alexis sounded good and it does not sound anything like my real name so I should be fine." Will answered her friend and they headed for the Silver Dragon.

As they entered the restaurant, Yan Lin greeted them. "Ah there you are, Irma! Hay Lin is waiting for you upstairs. And you must be their new friend, I don't believe we have been introduced, I am Yan Lin." The woman said and gave Will a small bow. Will could tell Yan Lin knew more then she was letting on and was probably waiting for a more private moment reveal that so Will played along.

"My names Alexis Smith, Mrs. Lin." Will replied nervously, not knowing whose side Yan Lin might be on. The old woman had been very supportive when Will was the Keeper of the Heart, but with what Elyon, Cornelia and Taranee did this afternoon, Will was a bit scared that Yan Lin might react in a similar way.

"Don't be scared child; no one is unwelcome in this restaurant…" Yan Lin started to say, but then noticed three figures coming towards the door. "But if a certain trio starts trouble, that policy might change. You two go upstairs and have fun; I have some things to take care down here." The retired Air Guardian instructed the two and ushered them up the stairs.

Just as Will and Irma made their way out of sight, Cornelia, Taranee and Elyon entered the Silver Dragon. "Can I help you girls?" Yan Lin said in polite tone, but the three could tell from the subtle looks she was giving them was warning not to mess with her.

"We are here to see Hay Lin and Irma; are they in?" Cornelia asked in a polite tone as well, but Yan Lin could tell the Earth Guardian was clutching the Heart that was hidden under her shirt. It was the blonde's way of saying, 'We will talk to them NOW!'

Yan Lin was a bit surprised by the Earth Guardian's strong and forceful approach. But the former Guardian was not going to give ground to a rebellious rookie. Yan Lin had faced worse the Cornelia Hale during her long career - both Earth and on other worlds.

"I'm afraid they are not here right now, out seeing a movie I believe. I'm surprised you three are not with them." Yan Lin replied, knowing they would not believe the excuse, but it was not like they would cause a scene. They were too smart to do that.

"That's too bad. Tell them we stopped by and will see them at school on Monday." Elyon said and gently tugged on Cornelia's arm. The taller blonde knew it was the signal to just let it drop and wait for a better time to confront the other two girls, namely at school where Yan Lin could not protect them.

"Careful you three, they have friends in high places now. It would be unwise to upset them a second time." Yan Lin said in a quiet tone, just loud enough for the three girls to hear. The trio of powerful magic users knew that is was a clear warning that they should not ignore and gulped loudly at the images that came to mind.

They quickly left and Yan Lin had a satisfied smirk on her face. 'That should hopefully remind them that even if I can't protect them, there are others to watch out for Hay Lin and Irma. I was hoping they would be closer than this, if only they had all sided with Will things would be easier.' Yan Lin thought as she headed up to check on the three girls not out for blood.

---

"Will, this is going to be one of the best nights of your life! We are going to party so hard it will make up for all those years you…" Irma started to say but quickly clammed up. It did not take genies to figure out what Irma was going to say, so the room had a bit of a sad aura to it.

"Irma…it's alright. You were only trying to be encouraging; I just rather forget about it than talk it about, though," Will said while she hugged herself. The other two girls wrapped their arms around her as well and had a group hug, which made Will feel a little better.

"Come on, let's picks some movies!" Irma said with a lot of enthusiasm and the three started searching through the Lin's video library. They were having the sleepover in the living room of the Lin household, where they would have the space and TV needed for the festivities.

As they started pulling movies out, Yan Lin entered the room with a menu in hand. "Alexis, or should I say Will? You don't need that glamour in here; my son and daughter in law are out of town so there is no need to hide. If you need to come downstairs you'll need to use it again though." The old woman informed the soon to be redhead, who nodded her head and let the disguise drop.

"That feels better, it's not hard to maintain but it felt a little uncomfortable for some reason. Like something was 'pulling' on me." Will said in a relieved tone, which Yan Lin chuckled at.

"You probably still have very small reserves Will. Unlike Guardians or your mother, you are relying on your own power and not a Heart to supply you with energy It probably will take you a while to build them up to make using a large amount of magic in a single day easier. That battle Hay Lin told me about probably took a good chunk of you so it made it easier to notice the glamour eating away at what you had left." The former Guardian explained as she set the menu down.

"How…How much do you know?" Will asked reluctantly, which confused Yan Lin. Hay Lin had limited the explanations to what had happened when the Guardians fought one another. The petite Air Guardian did not think it was right to mention Will's private life, mainly the uglier part of it.

"Will, I did not talk about the other stuff; just the fight. I should have told you sooner, I'm sorry." Hay Lin apologized while Will looked a bit more relieved while Yan Lin looked more confused and now bit worried now as well.

"Is there anything I should know Will? If you don't wish to talk I understand, but my door is always open." The old woman said in a comforting tone, which Will was glad to hear. She was worried Yan Lin would try to find out more, but that was not the case.

"Thank you, Mrs. Lin." Will replied and the girls went back to picking movies, then choosing what they wanted for dinner from the Silver Dragon's large menu. For Will, Irma and Hay Lin, the night was going to be something they needed to get a brief reprieve from all the battles. But soon they were going to get back into it and it was going to be a lot more intense.

---

"Do you know the name of the man the metalsmith recognized?" Susan asked the greedy Passling before her. Susan hated this particular Passling because his greed was greater than most of his kind, but he usually had good information and could not afford to let any of it slip out of her grasp.

"All names lost in mines." Jeek replied, while Raythor looked to his Queen and said, "He risked possible imprisonment to leave only for a few hours? Wh ever this man is, he must be important to your highness." Susan nodded her head in agreement and grabbed the sand for the viewing pool and cast it down to the throne room floor.

"Tell me when you see his face." Susan ordered Jeek who watched the images in the pool closely. After a few faces came into view and faded away, the one Jeek was looking for appeared. "There! There!" The green creature cried while Raythor scowled.

"Julian! But how can he be alive, all the reports said he perished in the battle at Grey Woods!" Raythor exclaimed in shock. Raythor and Julian were once good friends and sparing partners back in the days of Queen Weira's rule. But when Phobos started his rebellion against Queen Susan, Julian was among those tricked by Phobos to join his cause. The Royal Guard took a severe loss in morale upon hearing Julian had defected to Phobos' side.

"The battlefield is a chaotic place, Raythor; anything could happen amidst the confusion. What we need to worry about now is what are we going to do with this information?" Susan told her second command.

Raythor nodded his head and looked at the implications of this discovery. If the metalsmith was a part of the rebellion like they were now assuming, then he was going to try and alert the rebels. That would mean that Caleb, the rebel leader himself, would try and mount a rescue attempt. After all, what son would not want to save their father from imprisonment?

While they pondered this, Susan got a telepathic message from the one man she despised more than Phobos, the Oracle of Candracar. 'Your highness, I have something I must alert you of.' The Oracle said into Susan's mind, which almost made her yelp in surprise but managed to control herself.

'What do you want?' Susan spat back in bitter 'tone'. She was hoping to never see or hear from this man again, so why was he bothering her? He had Will's old powers, so there was nothing left on Meridian that he could want, with the exception of the war with Phobos to be over of course.

'I have come to inform you that you should start preparing some of that compensation I gave you for your daughter's time as Keeper. Two of the Guardians will need it soon.' The oracle explained before leaving the Queen's mind and leaving Susan confused.

'Why would they need those…no! He is going to take their powers away! I swear when the Veil is gone I'm am going to beat that man to a pulp!' Susan screamed in her mind before standing up to leave the throne room.

"Is something wrong, my Queen?" Raythor asked in a worried tone when he saw Susan's angry expression. He could not see how the topic of Caleb's father being alive would upset his Queen so greatly. 'Perhaps maybe she is worried what the princess will think if we use Julian to get to Caleb. The princess does have feelings for the boy afterall.' The powerful warrior concluded as he waited for a response from his Queen.

"The Oracle contacted me just now. He plans to…do something very soon that I do not like and must make preparations for." Susan explained as she made sure not to give Jeek any information he might try to sell to Phobos. There was no proof, but Susan had a gut feeling Jeek was the type to sell information to both sides to make a bigger profit and possibly extend the war as well. All Passlings were a bit greedy, but Jeek's type was well beyond even the Passling race's accepted limits.

Raythor understood his Queen's caution and immediately went about getting rid of the problem. "I'll see to it the smuggler is paid while you take care of this issue, your highness. Do you wish for me to deal with the Julian issue or shall we put that on hold for now?" Raythor asked as he watched Susan leave.

"I have an idea on what to do Raythor, come see me after you're done with the Passling." Susan replied without looking back, leaving Raythor with Jeek. Not the most pleasant duty he ever had to deal with, but he had worse…well maybe not.

"Let's go smuggler, I want you out of here so the air can become breathable again." Raythor grumbled as he led Jeek to go his payment.

---

Aldarn ran through the Infinite City trying to find Caleb. With what he heard from his father, Aldarn knew his best friend needed to hear this news right away. "Drake! Have you seen Caleb? I have something he needs to hear right now!" The elvin-like man called over to the blonde.

"I last saw him heading for the training area, probably trying to burn off some steam from what happened earlier. Can't blame him really, discovering the girl he loved is really the daughter of our greatest enemy must have hit him harder than anyone." Drake called back while he helped take down one of the temporary shacks that made up the camp.

With Irma and Hay Lin defecting to the Queen's side, the rebels knew they needed to move the base further into the Infinite City, just in case the Queen found out the current base's location. They were lucky when Will was originally taken back to her mother that the hiding place of the rebellion had not been exposed.

Many assumed it was the newly discovered princess' feeling for their leader that kept their base hidden the first time, but Irma and Hay Lin had no such connection to any of the rebels and they could not afford to take the risk.

"Thanks, I'll be back to help after I'm done telling him the news I have, but ready an emergency meeting of all the rebel leaders soon!" Aldarn called over one last time, before heading to find his best friend.

---

Unknown to anyone though, Caleb was about to vent more than just a little steam. Frost was entering the training area and was planning on mocking the boy who was practicing his swordsmanship.

"Must be hard being in love with someone you need to fight isn't it?" Frost said with an evil grin on his face. He loved getting under the rebel leader's skin and now that the truth about Will was out he had lots of things to use to do just that.

Caleb stopped his sword in mid-swing and glared at the muscle-bound warrior. "Careful Frost, you're treading on dangerous ground. Her mother won't fool Will for long. Soon she'll see her mother for the monster she really is and will be on our side again. Then Will can help us put Elyon on the throne and end the war once and for all!" Caleb growled at Frost, deep down hoping what he was saying would happen. He wanted Will back beside him again, where she belonged.

Frost just laughed at what Caleb said and replied, "You think the daughter of a power hungry woman like Queen Susan will give up all she has suddenly gained? She is just a step away from being officially named heir to the throne, do you honestly think she will give up all that power to be with a commoner like you?"

Frost's taunts pushed Caleb over the edge and he dropped the sword in his had to punch the larger man in the face. Frost had not seen it coming and recoiled from the force of the blow while he roared out, "Will is nothing like that! She is still the same girl I met in the castle dungeons! I saw it in her eyes!"

While Caleb was saying all this, Frost recovered from the punch and lunged at Caleb. The more agile boy dodged the charge and tripped Frost as he rushed past. "I'll beat some sense into you, you little brat!" Frost glowed as he got up and ready to fight again.

Caleb was now on the defensive, Frost was much stronger than him so there was no way Caleb could just block the larger and older warrior's punches, he needed to dodge them. If he did not, Caleb would get flattened despite being the more skilled fighter.

It was now mostly a battle of who would get who down first. Frost had not landed a single blow, but his nearly inhuman strength and stamina were keeping him from being defeated despite Caleb getting a few shots in now and then.

Aldarn came rushing in to see a charging Frost come at Caleb, grabbed Frost's punch in mid-swing and throw him judo style into a nearby practice dummy. "Okay, even by Frost's standards, that is no sparring match." Aldarn grumbled and ran over to put a stop to the fight before someone got hurt---mainly Frost

"What ever you two are fighting about, can it wait a little while? Caleb's father is alive!" Aldarn called out, making Caleb look over at his friend with a stunned expression on his face.

"He's what?!" Caleb yelled out, not seeing the massive object known as Frost's fist collide with his face. Caleb was sent flying several feet across the room and landed with a loud thud. Aldarn did not see his friend move an inch after landing, so in fury jumped at Frost with killer intent. It was his fault Caleb got hit so Aldarn was going to make up for it by fnishing what Caleb started; by beating the living snot out of Frost!

---

Caleb woke up in a cot with healers tending to the one bruise he had on the side of his face. Aldarn was getting treated for the large amount of bruises and the black eye he'd received from fighting Frost. Meanwhile, Frost was getting wrapped up like he was mummy. Frost was out cold and Aldarn was grinning while giving Caleb gave him a thumbs up.

"Sorry about getting you KOed, Caleb. I got him for you though." Aldarn told Caleb, who was chuckling and replied back, "Looks like he almost got you, you've gotten slower if Frost managed to land a blow."

Aldarn started to laugh, but stopped when he clutched his side and hissed in pain. "I…kind of tried going into a trading of blows contest instead of fighting smart." Aldarn explained while the healers finished treating the last of the winner's wounds.

"I hardly call having three of the rebellion's top warriors beating each other senseless smart by any means." The two heard the voice of Prince Phobos say as he entered the medical tent. He looked disgusted at the scene, not that anyone could disagree. This was not the best time for brawls since everyone was needed to help move the camp.

"I'm sorry, your highness. Frost and I were having one of our…disagreements and it got carried away." Caleb told the prince as he got up from where he was lying. Phobos accepted the explanation and glared at the still unconscious Frost.

"I told him to leave you alone about what happened today. I'll have to deal with him when he wakes up. Now let's move onto important business. I believe you have important information to tell Caleb, don't you Aldarn?" Phobos said.

"That's right, your highness. My father was hired to do some work in the underwater mines and…" Aldarn said as he started to retell the story his father told him about Julian.

---

Back on Earth, Will, Irma and Hay Lin were fast asleep with a movie playing on the TV when a portal quietly opened up. The Oracle walked through and stood over the Water and Air Guardians. "My apologies Guardians, but it must be done. The rules can confuse even me at times." The Oracle said before he called the mystic energy out of the Guardians' bodies.

Streams of aqua and sky blue energy flowed from the two girls and into the Oracle's hands. A few minutes later, a sphere of energy was in each hand and the Oracle walked back through the portal. The Oracle would then make similar visits to Taranee and Cornelia, but he would be increasing their powers, instead of draining them like he did to Hay Lin and Irma.

As the portal closed, Yan Lin stepped out of the shadows and looked at the now drained Guardians. 'They won't be happy to hear about this.' The old woman thought as she looked down sadly at the girls before going back to bed.

---

The next morning when the girls woke up, Irma and Hay Lin looked a little weak and it made Will worry. 'What's wrong with them?' Will wondered as she got up, Huggles climbing onto her shoulders as she did.

Will had noticed it seemed that Huggles responded to Irma and Hay Lin like he did to her mother. The girls could be near her and touch her without worry about the dormouse hissing or going all Kor on them. Like Will had promised her mother, (even if it was only a promise the two women had made) Will had given Huggles' transformed state a more intimidating name. Kor seemed like it could do the job and it sounded cool as well.

"Hey Will, what did your mother mean when she said Huggles could transform and that he was your familiar?" Hay Lin asked, her voice clearly not up to its usual level of energy.

'I hope it's just because they did not get enough sleep last night.' Will thought as she answered Hay Lin's question. "Well, from what mom tells me, Huggles is my magical bodyguard. If I were in trouble, he could change into this seven-foot tall humanoid beast creature and protect me. Not that he could have done much yesterday since we were pretty high up in the air and Huggles can't fly, not even when he is Kor."

"Kor?" Irma asked, wondering why the dormouse had two names, which made Will giggle. "Mom wanted the giant beast he turned into to have name that was less cute and seriously scary. I chose Kor since it was the first thing to come to mind." Will explained and now it was the others' turn to giggle.

"Ya, I can see why. I don't know what Kor looks like, but I bet Huggles does not suit that shape." Irma commented as they headed into the Lin family kitchen and got some cereal for breakfast. The food seemed to have give the two weak girls their strength back, so Will was less worried now.

'Guess it was nothing after all.' Will concluded, but then noticed a nasty and familiar smell. It made Huggles' fur stand on end and the three girls pinch their noses. "Blunk must be back." The three stated at the same time and then saw him just outside the window, holding two glowing diamond shaped pedants, one that glowed with a color that matched Irma's element and the other matching Hay Lin's.

"Get him inside so we can see what he wants and get him out of here before he hurts your family's business." Will told Hay Lin who eagerly accepted the idea and went over to the window. When it swung open, Blunk jumped through and landed on the kitchen floor and held up the two pendants to Hay Lin and Irma.

"Queenie tell Blunk to give these to you. Say they give you back powers after Oracle person took them away." Blunk informed the two former Guardians who were shocked to hear they had lost their powers. That would explain why there were so weak when they woke up!

Hay Lin and Irma both grabbed their pendents and each slipped it around their necks. They felt the energy of the pendants flow into them and restore their strength. "That feels better. Sure breakfast helped but this helps even more." Irma said in a relieved tone as she felt as if a missing part of had been returned.

"Ya it feels great! I think I feel even stronger than before actually." Hay Lin added while Blunk handed a note to Will. Will opened it to find it was from her mother and she read it aloud.

---

Dear Will, as Blunk has already told you, these pedants will restore your friends' powers. I don't know why the Oracle took them away, but we will have to find out later. The important thing is your friends now have their full power now.

Before, the Veil was weakening their powers, but now they have Meridian's power flowing into them and thus will have access to their full strength and all their more advanced abilities.

The wannabe court jester will have mind infusing ability now. To use it, she need only focuse her mind on those she wants to effect and repeat in mind what she wants them to do. Tell her to keep it simple and it does NOT work on those with equal or greater mystic power or the strong minded.

Your friend Hay Lin will be able to go invisible whenever she wants as her more advanced ability. I am sure she will have fun using it.

If they wish to transform, tell them to say their element's name and then add Guardian. I know you probably feel a bit left out since you can't transform, but being at your full powers without doing so has its advantages, Will, I can assure you of that.

Have fun on the rest of your time together, I'll come pick you up later.

Love, Mom.

---

Irma growled at the court jester comment, which the other girls laughed at. Will was feeling a bit left out like the note said because she liked looking older and more beautiful. Will knew she could always use a glamour, but that wasn't the same.

'Mom's probably right about it being an advantage, but I still feel left out.' Will thought sadly then felt Blunk tug on her sleeve. "Blunk also hear big news when he left to bring pedants. Trade?" Blunk asked as Will looked down at him.

"For what?" Will asked, not knowing if she had anything she could offer for whatever this news was, but noticed the Passling staring at Huggles and licking his lips. Will was about to tell the smelly green creature off, when Huggles jumped of Will's shoulders and changed into Kor.

"Oh ya, he is defiantly a Kor when he looks like that." Irma said nervously as Kor grabbed Blunk by the back of his shirt when he tried to run. The dormouse was defiantly smarter than the average animal because it did not like what Blunk had been implying.

"Maybe you should tell me the news before Kor eats you." Will told the Passling, who was nodding his head in fear.

---

"Well…that's one way to trade with a Passling." Raythor said as he and Susan looked into the viewing pool and watched Kor grab Blunk. They had paid him to deliver the pedants and make it seems he overheard the news about Caleb's father.

"Well at least he managed to make it convincing he had only overheard and had not been told to tell them. Had the Passling offered it for free the girls might have suspected something." Susan added, smiling a bit at the look on the Passling's face when his 'meal' showed it could bite back.

Susan's knew her 'plan' for Julian went against everything she was supposed to do as Queen, but the mother in her did not want to upset her daughter by using the father of the boy she cared about as bait.

'Let's see how Will makes use of the news, and then see what we will do in response.' Susan thought in her mind as she watched her daughter listen to Blunk's story.

---

Kor was keeping a tight hold on Blunk after he was finished, while Will thought the information over. Irma and Hay Lin could tell the redhead was torn between helping Caleb get his father back and being loyal to her mother.

"Will…we are behind you, no matter what choice you make." Irma said in a serious tone. Hay Lin also looked ready for action and Huggles looked at his mistress as if waiting a command. Will knew she had a team ready to help her make a jail break.

Will closed her eyes for a moment as she made the decision. Her eyes snapped open and looked at Blunk and said, "Alright Blunk, I need a portal ASAP! The rest of you, here is the plan…"

---

That afternoon, Will's team was sneaking up to the mine shaft, by using Hay Lin's and Irma's powers to create a bubble to travel under the water. The plan was for Will to focus her lighting attack to try and cut them a way in, but things were not working out.

"Darn it! Looks like we will need to make a plan B. If only Taranee were here! She's the one whose powers who can mimic a blow torch!" Will grumbled as she failed once again to use her powers to cut the pipe open.

"I would not be so sure about that Will. I hear wings beating right behind us." Hay Lin said then Will spun around to see nothing. "Hay Lin, I know we should trust your sense of hearing in most cases, but this time it flunked big time. Besides, even if they were here, do you honestly think they would help us, even if our goals were the same?" Irma asked her friend; Will was not so sure if seeing was believing in this case.

"Alright show yourselves or I start a lightshow. We all want to bail Caleb's dad out so I think it's in your best interest to work with us." Will ordered and Elyon, Taranee, Cornelia and Caleb appeared. Will could tell from how hard Elyon was breathing, she was the reason they were invisible.

There was dead silence between the two groups until Caleb spoke up. "Will…are you really trying get my dad out of there?" Caleb asked as he stared into Will eyes with a hopeful expression on his face.

Will looked away with a blush on her face as she said, "O-Of course. I know what its like not have your real parents in your life. I wanted to get him out of there before my mom decided she's going to just put him somewhere where even I could not get him out." Caleb gave Will a thankful look, but the two Guardians holding him in mid air and the still panting Elyon were glaring at her.

"Ya right. I bet you really just wanted to wait for us to show up in the mines and make sure we got caught!" Taranee stated with her hands on her hips, clearly not believing a word Will was saying.

"Taranee, we are standing over a lake, which in case you did not know is made up of water! Remember what my element is? And more importantly, what is does to yours!" Irma shot back at the Fire Guardian as she flew in front of Will in a protective manner.

"We are a lot stronger now Irma, so it does not matter if were are above a lake or not. What I want to know is how you guys still have your powers after the Oracle took them away! How are you even transformed for that matter!" Cornelia demanded as she took out the Heart to change Irma and Hay Lin back, but nothing happened.

"We are hooked up to a new source, Cornelia, so that won't work on us now!" Hay Lin told the Earth Guardian, but was worried about the news of the Fire and Earth Guardians getting a power boost.

If the Oracle did the same thing he did when Will left the group, then the raw mystic energy that was once Will's, Irma's and hers was now with Taranee and Cornelia, they were even stronger than anyone else here. Will would possibly be stronger than the super-charged Earth and Fire Guardians, since Hay Lin was unsure how Will ranked in terms of power, but it was probably not best to gamble on an unknown factor.

"Hold it girls! Take it easy. If Will wanted us captured what is stopping her from doing it now when there are a lot soldiers waiting for us among the reeds on the other side of the shaft? With that kind of back up we would be finished, no matter how much stronger you two have become!" Caleb pointed out, hoping to avoid having a fight breaking out when they needed to get into the mines.

This made the three Will haters see reason and Elyon held her hand out to Will. "Alright, we call a truce until we get Julian out of there. Next time though, be ready for a showdown." Elyon stated as she kept a close eye on Will in case the redhead tried something.

Will shook the hand and then looked to Taranee and said, "We better work fast, from what Blunk told us, my mom has no plans yet to come get Julian, but let's not risk her changing her mind." Taranee nodded her head in agreement and quickly started to cut the group's way in.

---

Once inside, it was a simple matter to get some uniforms to disguise themselves. Will had to use a glamour though because they were all too big for her and she needed to hide Huggles so that was the only way.

"Wish you knew what he looked like, Hay Lin, then you could scout ahead for us." Will whispered while those who did not know of Hay Lin's new power looked at Will in confusion.

"Um…when we got our powers back, we got fully charged so we can use our advanced abilities now. For me it was invisibility. What did you guys get?" Hay Lin asked as she answered for Will.

"Telekinesis for me and Telepathy for Taranee. What about Irma?" Cornelia asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. Irma looked at the blonde as if about say something that might end the truce so Caleb put a hand over her mouth, while Will answered, "She can influence people's minds, you guys are immune because of your magic and Caleb is probably too strong willed. And if it did somehow effect him, I'd kill her."

The not so subtle threat was clear warning to stay out of Caleb's head or else, so Irma held up her hands in surrender. This ensured the truce lasted and they went back to looking for Caleb's father.

They found him working on some rocks, Will told them about her original plan. "I was thinking of using a glamour to sneak him away to some place private so I could telatransport him out, but since we have an uneasy peace here, we might lack the trust for that." Will told the group. Those who lacked faith in Will seemed to agree with this statement, but Caleb spoke up again.

"Look, it is the fastest and easiest way out of here. Have a little faith in our truce for once!" Caleb said as quietly as he could without loosing the firmness needed to talk some sense into Elyon, Taranee, and Cornelia.

This gave Will the support needed to use her plan and quickly changed into a guard she had seen one time at the castle and went up to Julian. "They need more men down that shaft. Come with me!" Will ordered and made Julian follow her.

When they got back to the group, Julian gasped when he saw Caleb. For a second, Julian was worried when the 'guard' looked at Caleb, but then watched Will drop the glamour. "That was easy. How about we telatransport to the spot we met outside? It's the only neutral ground I can think of." Will suggested and everyone agreed while Julian tried to figure out what was going on.

But before Will could do anything, a group of people came around the corner. There were a total of four people, two guards and two miners, to be specific, the Vandoms. "You!" Tony roared as he saw Will's face and swung the pick he was holding at the redhead.

Will ducked the swing and it hit the wall, the two guards grabbed Tony, but that left Serene still free. "You worthless brat!" the woman screamed and raised her pick to strike, but Huggles jumped at her and transformed.

The Weremouse held the woman by the throat with one claw and held the other ready to strike, but the two guards started crying, "Monster in the mines! Send help!" It did not help matter that Cornelia was startled by Huggles changing into Kor and accidently caused an earthquake that shook the mines.

The earthquake made several cracks form throughout the mines and let water start to flow in. The cracks were not very big, but there were many of them and they would flood the mines in a matter of hours. This meant an evacuation would need to be done fast or people might die.

"With allies like these, who needs enemies?" Irma stated sarcastically and got a glare from Cornelia. "Well I'm sorry if seeing a rodent turn into a monster before my eyes freaked me out!" Cornelia spat back. The two were about to go at it in a classic Irma VS Cornelia argument when Will intervened.

"Easy you two, we've got bigger problems to deal with! If we don't get everyone out of them mines soon, a lot of people will drown. So let's get to work on getting the guards and miners out before the water floods most of the mines." Will said in hopes of getting some cooperation between the two groups.

"So we can get caught by your mother's loyal troops while we save their lives? Not a chance!" Cornelia hissed as the redheaded princess. This got Will looking real angry and levitated a few feet up, so to be at eyes level with the blonde Guardian.

"You're the one who caused this mess! So either help clean it up or else!" Will growled at Cornelia, who did not look like she appreciating the lecture. The Earth Guardian would have gladly argued back, but Elyon stepped in.

"She's right, Cornelia. We've got to fix this before people get hurt. Don't forget it's your duty to protect the innocent and there is bound to be a few innocent people down here." The other princess of Meridian reminded her best friend and Cornelia stood down.

"Fine, lets get moving then."

---

Once the guards found out the Queen's daughter was there to help, it was easy to organize everyone and start moving people to the surface. The process was slow, since the majority of the miners were criminals and needed to be moved out carefully, but it still went smoothly. It was easy to keep the inmates in line with so many magic users and guards around.

Caleb kept himself and his father out of sight as much as possible, so no one would recognize the rebel leader. It also made it possible to make sure Julian was not escorted out with the other prisoners. If that happened, there might not be a second chance to get Julian back and Caleb would not risk that happening.

"So Caleb, you have...feelings for the Queen's daughter?" Julian asked, giving his son a small grin. The former rebel leader was not normally one to condone relationships between enemy groups, but his time in the mines gave him time to think about things.

Seeing who the Queen preferred to sentence to come to the mines made him wonder how 'evil' the woman truly was. It was true rebels were brought down to this forsaken place, but there were far more who certainly deserved to be in this accursed mine. Murdered, rapists and other such people greatly out numbered the rebel population. For the most part, rebels seemed only brought into the mines when there was no place to put them.

'You would think a Queen that murdered her sister would want her enemies breaking their backs and risking their lives down here, instead of being inside ordinary prisons. True I heard many rebels were sent to work camps, but those camps are much safer than this place.' Julian contemplated as he waited for his son's response.

Caleb blushed as he looked away and said, "B-Back before anyone, including Will, knew she was the heir to the throne, she was the Keeper of the Heart and leader of the Guardians. During that time, we became...close. Shorty after we started to truly become a couple, everything went out of control. Phobos said Will tried to kill him and that she was under a spell, but then we find out she Queen's Susan daughter." Caleb explained, but could not go into further detail because Will appeared in front of them.

"Okay, this is our chance to get you two out of here. If I telatransport both of you into the water, can you both make it to the shore on the far side of the lake?" Will asked and got a nod from both father and son.

"Don't worry about us, Will, we can mange...and Will...stay safe." Caleb told the redhead who blushed a bit at his concern. "I-I will Caleb. It's not like Huggles, in either of his forms, will let anything happen to me anyway." Will replied as Kor ran up to the three people and reverted back into his Huggles form.

Huggles then scampered up onto Will's shoulders and waited for his mistress to work her magic, while Elyon, Taranee and Cornelia gathered near. They would have flown Caleb and Julian ashore, but they were all worn out from helping clear out the mine.

"It's too bad you sided with your mother, cousin. We make a pretty good team." Elyon commented in a somewhat friendly tone. There was still clear sign of mistrust in Elyon's voice, but at least it was better than when they began this mission.

Cornelia was giving Will the cold shoulder, but Taranee just seemed lost in thought, so Will was unsure about the fire Guardian's feeling towards her. "Taranee, is everything alright?" Will asked in a concerned tone of voice, which snapped the Fire Guardian back to reality.

"Y-Ya, everything is fine Will. Just feeling like I forgot something, probably just something I needed to do back on Earth. Too bad you can't just open portals, it would make the trip faster and drier for us." Taranee answered, not voicing her real concerns.

'The Vandoms were so hostile when they saw Will, why? It makes no sense.' Taranee thought as Will stared at the fire Guardian in shock.

Will had not even considered the idea of opening her own portals before.

'I think I did open a portal once though, back when I escaped Phobos after he found me eavesdropping on his meeting with his goons. But can I do it again?' Will wondered and turned away from the group.

Everyone was confused at what the redhead held out her hand and waved in the air. But before anyone could ask what she was doing, a portal opened up in front of Will. "I did it!" Will cheered and the others stared in shock.

"Why didn't you say you could do that earlier?!" Cornelia demanded while Will held up her hand in a defensive gesture. "Taranee gave me the idea; I did not know I could actually do though. It was a lucky guess!" Will stated in her defense.

Before Cornelia could start ranting again, Caleb placed a hand on the blonde's shoulder and said, "Let's just be glad she could do it. Let's use it, get back to the bookshop, and then return to the base." The suggestion calmed Cornelia down and marched through the portal as quickly as she could, clearly trying to get away from Will as soon as possible.

The others used the portal and Will watched it close up, most likely thanks to Cornelia using the Heart. 'Goodbye, Caleb. I hope we can meet again soon.' Will thought as she went to go see Irma and Hay Lin.

Will found them very quickly, unfortunately she also found her mother with them as well. "Well, I see you are all here. Mind telling me why you are in here to begin with?" Susan demanded, not letting on she had known all along and had secretly encouraged the plan. Susan knew she could not let her daughter know of her mother's involvement in getting Will to free Julian. Not until they were in private.

Until then she would have to grill the three girls, or people might wonder what was really up. 'The hard part of being both a mother and a Queen.' Susan mentally sighed as she went about her act, much to Will's, Irma's, and Hay Lin's dismay.

---

Well, there you go. Hope you all liked it.