GRACE: The Next Generation

by IndusLotus2001

A new group of very different girls are chosen to take on the title of Guardians of the Veil, and as the powers are passed on to the new generation, a new generation of enemies arise as well. The fate of all the worlds hang in the balance as these new Guardians learn theirs is the most important generation yet. They will make or break the rise of the new world.

21. The Thousand Year Guardians

A/N: Hello lovely readers! So I actually have til Tuesday before I go back to school, so I'm hoping to get this chapter out by then. Five days? I can do it! I was also extremely surprised by the reception I got on the last chapter. Several people liked it, and I didn't expect that. Anyway, this chapter covers a lot of secrets the guardians have and bonding time. I actually liked coming up with stuff, so I hope you guys like reading it.

Also, HUGE DISCLAIMER: The lines of the prophecy belong to Rick Riordan. I took lines from his prophecies in the Percy Jackson series and rewrote them to fit W.I.T.C.H.

G.R.A.C.E. G.R.A.C.E. G.R.A.C.E.

Emily: Good job, reviewing quickly. See, that's how you get to be the first reviewer. I liked the Jake and Rae part too. I guess I had to since I did write it. Probably because it will lol. It can't be that easy, especially with Gabi and Josh. They're gonna go through a lot before I put them together, if I ever do. Remember, I still might put Gabi back with Jake in the end. Yup, I thought so too. I like Caty and Tony too. I don't know if I'm gonna put them together though. I think I'm gonna slowly develop a real friendship between Gabi and Rae. You'll just have to wait and see about who saw, and you're right about the Angel of Magic. I already know you like this chapter!

Taylor: Thanks so much, I'm glad you enjoyed it! There are a lot of secrets and mysteries. Unfortunately, you won't find out who the Angel of Magic is for a while, but it'll be pretty obvious who the person that saw the whole battle will be in this chapter. Hope you like it!

Shay: I'm so glad you like it. I hate static characters, but I always seem to write about them, so I'm glad the characters in this story are dynamic. I think one of the main characters being a bitch in the beginning helped me remind myself to change the characters. That was supposed to be a big theme in this story. I hope you like what I came up with for this chapter!

Misa: Yes, the guardians are finally coming together, and they'll bond even further in this chapter. I really like James and Alyssa together too, even though I'm still not completely sure what I'm going to do with her. I have a few ideas. And Rae and Jake are still my favorite potential couple. I wouldn't worry too much about them if I were you. That's an interesting idea about the spy, but no it's not the spy that saw them. I mean, yes, the spy was watching them too, but that's not who I was alluding to. You'll see who I was talking about in this chapter. As for the Angel of Magic, you'll have to wait a while to find out her identity. And I wish she said they could call her Angela or something because every time I write Angel, all I can think of is BTVS.

SilvenArrow: I hope so too, haha! I'm so glad you liked it. I tried really hard to make sure my characters were dynamic in this story because I'm usually really bad at that. It'll be a while til you find out who Angel is, and probably even longer til you find out who the spy is, but this chapter will reveal both who was watching the battle, and The Thousand Year Prophecy. Hope you like it!

WaterAmulet: Yeah, I didn't want to do too much with them, because like I said, they're gonna get together soon, probably in the next chapter. I knew you'd be excited about that. I liked Caty and Gabi as friends too. They balance each other out well. Well of course not, I didn't want to give it away. And as for her appearance, I got that idea from the Percy Jackson/Heroes of Olympus series. The goddess Aphrodite keeps changing her appearance whenever she appears. And even though they never said it in the book, I figured their voices are loud and booming and "echo-y" because they're gods, so I used that for Angel's voice. You'll know in this chapter who the person watching was. Hope you like what I came up with!

G.R.A.C.E. G.R.A.C.E. G.R.A.C.E.

"Want to come with me?" Caty asked Gabi when they reached Caty's house. Each of the girls wanted to go back to their own house to change and grab their stuff before going back to The Silver Dragon for their sleepover. The rest of Team GRACE decided to stay too, especially since Josh and Sage felt a little weird sleeping in Gabi and Rae's houses by themselves, so they headed to James' house first, then Caty's. "Lili will be there."

"Sure," Gabi said and the two girls exited the limo.

When Caty opened the door, she was greeted immediately by Iris, who peppered her daughter with a thousand questions about the dance and her first date.

Caty gave Jeremy a panicked look, to which all he offered in return was a sympathetic smile. Aunt Dawn bit back a smile too. She saw Layla, Libby, Liam, and Leo watching something on a TrappleLap, Trapple Industries most expensive, but best, laptop to date, but Lili was nowhere to be seen.

"Mom, I promise I'll tell you all about the dance tomorrow. I just came back here to change and grab my biology stuff."

"Really Caty, your Aunt Dawn and cousins are here. You couldn't put schoolwork on the back burner for one night?" Iris protested.

"No Mom, I couldn't. Schoolwork is important," Caty growled out. Her mother could never understand why Caty obsessed about school and extracurricular actives so much. Iris got decent grades and played tennis in high school, but that was the extent of her school life. Before Iris got pregnant, Iris's failure to understand Caty's neurotic view on school was one the extremely few things that reminded Caty she was adopted.

"Not more important than family," Iris said.

"Nonsense," Dawn broke in. "Caty was here for Lili all summer and I really appreciate that. And one thing I always admired about Caty, and hoped my own kids would pick up on, is her work ethic and her smarts."

"That's Caty. Always an overachiever," Gabi chimed in.

Caty looked at Gabi. "It must be so painful for you to call me something as nice as overachiever, instead of nerd."

"I'm working on being okay with it," Gabi joked.

"I know you," Dawn said. "You're one of Lili's friends. One of the cheerleaders."

"Head cheerleader actually Aunt Dawn," Caty said. "This is Gabi Shay. And somehow, she became my friend too."

"It's because I'm completely awesome," Gabi said.

"You're the girl who gave my daughter a makeover, right?" Iris asked. "I want to thank you for showing Caty how easy it is to look your best. I've been trying for years."

"My pleasure," Gabi said pleasantly, snickering internally at Caty's embarrassed look.

"Mom," Caty groaned. "Come on," she said to Gabi and led her to her room.

Lili came out of the bathroom at that moment and followed the pair.

"Hey Lil," Gabi said as Caty closed the door, lowered her blinds, and picked out a sweatshirt and a pair of sweatpants that were comfortable to sleep in.

Lili didn't respond to Gabi. Instead, she regarded her friend with suspicion.

"Lil, why is your overnight bag on my bed?" Caty asked.

"You have a big bed and I want it. Since you're not going to be here anyway, I thought-"

"No!" Caty cried, making Lili jump. "I already gave up my room for Miss. Practically Has My Name, and after she's born, I'm going to give up my bed for Grandma and Grandpa. You can't sleep here!"

"But-" Lili started in her most obnoxious voice ever, but Caty cut across her.

"No! Out!" Caty demanded, thrusting her arm out.

Lili yelped in fright, jumping back. Gabi laughed.

"Did you just yelp?" she asked.

Lili didn't answer. She grabbed her overnight bag. "Okay, I won't sleep here, just don't hurt me!"

"Hurt you?" Caty repeated, confused.

Lili grabbed her overnight bag and made a move to leave.

"Wait, Lili, what's wrong?" Caty asked.

"Nothing," Lili insisted.

"You sure?" Gabi asked.

"Yes," Lili said.

Caty and Gabi exchanged looks, then shrugged.

"You think Hay Lin will have sleeping bags or something? I don't know where mine is, so I can't bring it," Caty said.

"I'm sure she will. She would've told us to bring sleeping bags otherwise," Gabi pointed out.

"Hay Lin?" Lili repeated. "Like, Chris Lyndon's mom? I thought you were sleeping over at New Girl's house."

"We are…but we're going to The Silver Dragon first," Caty said, realizing that didn't make sense. Why would sleeping bags come into the picture?

Lili didn't question that however. She looked at Gabi. "And you're sleeping over too?"

"Well, Sage wanted to, so I figured I might as well."

"So you ditched Bree in favor of Sage?" Lili challenged.

Gabi bit her lip, realizing she had told Bree she was still grounded and that's why Bree couldn't sleepover. But now Lili knew she wasn't grounded. Would she tell Bree? Gabi was the one who brought Lili into her group, but Lili formed a close friendship with Bree.

"Um…"

"And is Josh sleeping over too?"

"Well, he doesn't want to stay in my house without me, so-"

"So, let's see, it's going to be you, Sage, Josh, Caty, New Girl, and Classless-a?" Lili asked.

"Yes," Gabi said.

"What about Nina and Misha? Aren't they in your group Caty?" Lili challenged.

"Oh, um, they're coming too," Caty said.

"That's funny, considering they told me you guys didn't have a sleepover planned for tonight because you were too busy with your tutor circle, whatever that is, and that you guys are currently fighting."

Caty groaned softly.

"Want to know what I think?" Lili continued. "I think you're having a sleepover with Gabi, New Girl, Classless-a, and the Drama Freak. And Sage will also be there, as well as Josh. But I also think Chris and Cara Lyndon will be there, and that new boy, James Mason. Am I right?"

"Uh…"

"And Eric Lyndon, Chris's father will be there for some odd reason, and Hay Lin-Lyndon, his mother, so you're actually sleeping over in The Silver Dragon basement."

Gabi and Caty exchanged looks. Not only had Lili named every member of Team GRACE, but she'd also cited their meeting place.

"And you want to know why? Because you guys are all hiding a big secret. Why else would a nerd, a drama freak, a new kid, a friendless loser, and the most popular girl in school hang out together?" Lili asked.

Caty was too freaked out to reprimand Lili for calling Ellie a drama freak or remind her that Alyssa was no longer a friendless loser, and regardless, shouldn't be called that.

"I know what that secret is too," Lili went on. "You're all witches."

Caty and Gabi just stared at her dumbly.

"You can grow wings and fly and make weird things happen, like make rocks fly or make water appear. And you kill freaky looking things. Except Klutzcroft can't grow wings like you. Probably a good thing since she'd be more of a menace in the sky. But she and Josh Hart and James Mason kill those things with swords. And Chris and Cara Lyndon and their father can grow wings and do superhuman things, and Sage Martin also uses a sword and has magic, so she's a witch too."

"Lili, what…?" Caty wasn't sure how to finish the question.

"I saw you guys," Lili said as if that weren't already clear. "I saw all of you exit the gym, so I followed you, but I came out of a different door so you wouldn't know. Then I saw Gabi and New Girl fighting two monsters, and then I hid while you guys all fought in a different hallway, then you guys went to the roof and I followed you there too and watched you through the window. I had to run downstairs when New Girl, Josh, and Chris went through, but there's a little alcove in the staircase I could hide in. Then I watched you through the window again, hid when New Girl, Chris, and Josh came back up, watched you once more, then hid when you guys made your way back downstairs. After you unlocked the gym doors, I called Mom to come pick me up a little early."

"Wow," Caty whispered. "Well…now you know Lili."

"Know what? I have no idea what it was that I saw!"

"How do we explain this?" Caty muttered.

"Well for starters, we're not witches," Gabi said, deciding to start the explanation off for Caty. "We just control different elements. I have Earth, your cousin has water, Ellie has air, and New Girl has lightning. The real term is a longer word, but I don't understand what that means. Oh, and Classless-a used to have fire, but that power was taken away from her."

"What else can you do?" Lili asked.

Gabi used her telekinesis to take Lili's overnight bag from her hands and put it back on Caty's bed. "I can move things with my mind. Classless-a can read minds, but not all minds. Only mine, Caty's, Ellie's, and New Girl's, and she can also talk in our minds and help us communicate in our minds. New Girl can talk to electronic objects, and we can all hear them. Her phone is constantly on her case for her using to play games instead of look stuff up for homework. Ellie can go invisible, and your cousin has mind control, but she's not very good at it."

Lili was now gaping at them.

"Lili, I have to go now," Caty said. "And I'll explain this all to you tomorrow, I promise. But you can't tell anybody."

"Who would I tell?" Lili replied. "No one would believe me."

"Thank you."

"So…you guys really won't hurt me?" Lili asked.

"We're the good guys. We're fighting evil and saving the world," Gabi said.

"Not this world though," Caty put in.

"We-ell," Gabi thought, but didn't say anything.

"Yeah, okay, but we don't hurt innocent people," she said instead. "We sometimes use our second powers for fun, like when Classless-a and I used telepathy to help Caty flirt with Brian, or when Caty used her mind control to make Lana admit to Jake she published the paper, but we don't hurt anyone who doesn't deserve it."

"Okay," Lili said, looking relieved.

"And you know what, Lil? It's not a big deal if you sleep in my bed. You're right, I'm not going to be here," Caty relented.

Lili's eyes lit up. "Yay, you're the best. But I'll never admit to anyone I said that."

"Good. I don't really want anyone to know I'm considered the best in the mind of a cheerleader anyway," Caty said.

"Hey!" Lili and Gabi cried indignantly.

Caty just laughed, grabbed her backpack, said good night to everyone, and left with Gabi.

G.R.A.C.E. G.R.A.C.E. G.R.A.C.E.

"So now what?" Alyssa asked. The sleeping bags were laid out, five in a circle for GRACE, and the rest in the corners for the other members of the team.

It was 11pm by the time everyone made it back to The Silver Dragon, so James and Alyssa decided to skip their "date" and just have a late dinner with everyone else. Hay Lin spent the time telling the team about some of her adventures when she was still a guardian. There were occasional questions from the girls, and questions from James, which happened a little more frequently since he didn't know the entire story, and it was a lot of fun.

However, after everyone was done with their food, Hay Lin and Eric went upstairs, GRACE went to the basement, and Josh, Sage, Chris, Cara, and James, as per Hay Lin's instructions, were supposed to remain upstairs for at least an hour.

"I think we're supposed to be bonding," Rae said.

"How do we do that?" Caty asked.

"Well, why don't we play a game?" Ellie suggested. "Everyone plays game at sleepovers."

"What kind of game?" Caty asked.

"Remember that one we used to play at your house Lyssa?" Ellie asked. "When Adam used to stay over?"

"Your mother let a boy sleepover?" Caty asked.

"Every Friday," Alyssa replied. "We started the tradition when we were five, and Mom was okay with it since it wasn't just Adam. Ellie was there too. I'll admit, Dad wasn't too thrilled, but Mom usually makes the rules in my house."

"Oh I'll bet," Gabi muttered, causing Alyssa, Caty, and Ellie to give her a strange look.

Rae's look, however, was curious. Gabi looked right into her eyes, and Rae understood. Gabi knew about Josh being Alyssa's sister, and Taranee and Caleb's tryst.

"Well, anyway," Rae said, "what game did you guys play?"

"I don't think it's exactly right for our age," was Alyssa's dodgy answer. She didn't notice that Ellie's face fell.

"Well, I have an idea," Gabi said. "My cheerleaders and I play this at out 'Welcome to the Team' sleepover after tryouts. It's called Full Disclosure. We all write down a secret, put them all in a hat, pick one out and try to guess whose it is. We only write down one sentence, because once we guess whose secret it is, they have to explain it to us."

For a minute, everyone just looked at Gabi. Then the protests started.

"No way!" Rae cried.

"I refuse," Caty said.

"I don't want to reveal my secrets," Ellie said.

"Yeah, I'm not comfortable with that," Alyssa agreed.

"Oh come on, how bad could your secrets be?" Gabi said, rolling her eyes. "We're supposed to be bonding, right?"

The others looked at each other uneasily.

"I don't know," Rae said, shifting. "I mean, I don't about the rest of you, but I'm not ready to share all my secrets with any of you guys yet. You know, except Alyssa, but she already knows my secrets."

"Then we'll have a rule," Gabi said. "Everything we learn stays in this room. If one of us tells someone's secret, then we have the right to tell yours."

"Well," Alyssa said finally, "it doesn't have to be our deepest secret."

"Ground rules though. Nothing that's inappropriate or that will hurt anyone," Rae said. "And this game has to be about our secrets, not anyone else's." She looked right at Gabi.

Gabi rolled her eyes. Did New Girl really think she'd spill Josh's secret?

"Okay, let's do it then," Alyssa said.

Caty took out her notebook, ripped a sheet of paper out, and split that into five strips. She handed each girl a pen.

"Well thank you Miss. Office Max," Gabi joked.

Caty just gave her a half smile and the girls all wrote down their secrets.

"Okay, anyone have a hat or anything?" Gabi asked as the girls folded their paper strips into little squares.

Rae grabbed one of Hay Lin's decorative bowls. "I'm sure she won't mind if we use this," she said, putting her secret in it. The others followed suit.

"Okay," Gabi said. "Who wants to pick first?"

"Oh, me!" Ellie cried excitedly.

"One rule before you pick," Gabi said. "If we pick your secret, you can't tell us. Just pretend to think about it like the rest of us."

The girls all nodded, and Gabi handed the bowl to Ellie, who eagerly picked a secret.

"I think my parents got divorced for no reason," she read.

"How is that a secret?" Gabi asked.

"It's more like a statement," Caty said.

"And it's obviously Rae," Ellie said.

"What do you mean by that?" Alyssa asked curiously.

"When I was little my dad used to disappear at the oddest times and not come back for hours and be really dodgy when my mother asked him where he was. I didn't understand it then, but as I got older, I figured he was cheating on her. But lately, I've been remembering hearing strange noises whenever he came home. He never used the door, and the noises sounded like what we hear when a portal opens or when someone is coming out of it."

"So you think he was going to Meridian?" Alyssa asked.

"He is Sage's godfather," Rae said.

"But your mother knows about Meridian," Caty pointed out. "So why would he lie about that?"

"Maybe he was cheating on her," Gabi said. "It doesn't necessarily have to be with an Earth woman."

"Maybe he cheated on her with Elyon and Sage is your sister," Ellie giggled.

Alyssa and Caty gave Ellie half smiles, and rolled their eyes. Rae and Gabi looked at each other uneasily. Sage wasn't anyone's sister, but that story sounded familiar.

'I think one secret sister is enough,' Rae thought.

"Sage doesn't even look like Rae. I doubt they're related," Gabi said.

"Obviously," Caty said. "I'm pretty sure Ellie was joking."

Gabi and Rae exchanged nervous looks again, which went unnoticed by the others.

"Oh yeah. Of course," Rae said, her voice unnaturally high. "Um…so yeah…that's it."

"How does that relate to your parents getting divorced for no reason?" Ellie asked as Alyssa and Caty gave Rae strange looked for her nervousness.

"I always thought the cheating was the reason they got divorced," Rae explained. "And I guess Gabi could be right, and he was cheating on my mom with some Meridian lady. But if he wasn't, if he was just going to Meridian to visit Elyon and Sage, then she probably thought he was cheating even though he wasn't."

"But that doesn't make sense," Caty said. "Why would he not tell her he was going to Meridian?"

"Well Elyon was his best friend, so he probably went there to visit her," Alyssa said. "Maybe he didn't tell her because he thought she'd get jealous."

"But Elyon and Silena are friends too. They're still friends," Gabi said. "She wouldn't think one of her closest friends would do anything with her husband."

"I don't know. The whole thing is weird. I mean, my mind is still blown by the fact that my parents both know about Meridian," Rae said.

Alyssa frowned. "Rae, what are you really thinking?"

Rae sighed inaudibly, but let Alyssa in. "If there's one thing my mom cares about more than anything in the world, it's me. I have a feeling she divorced my father because she suspected he didn't care about me as much as he should."

"What does that mean?"

"Well…like I said, he always disappeared, and when I think about it, I think he went to Meridian. And Sage, who was born a year before me, is his goddaughter. Now I'm wondering, what if my parents got a divorce because my father cared about Sage more than me?"

"Rae, that's impossible! I know I don't know your father, but you're his daughter, not Sage. And from what you told me about him, he definitely loves you. More than Sage."

Rae gave Alyssa a weak smile, but didn't say anything. Sage was kind and beautiful and powerful. And why else would his father always cancel plans with her and why did he always go to Meridian? He probably felt as if Rae was inadequate, like she didn't match up to Sage, who was like the daughter he always wanted.

"Okay, who's next?" Gabi asked.

"I'll go," Alyssa said, taking the bowl. She picked up a strip of paper and read it aloud. "I wasn't adopted by choice."

Everyone immediately looked at Caty.

"What does that mean?" Gabi asked.

Ellie gave Gabi a questioning look. She figured if anyone knew about Caty's adoption, it would be Gabi. Even though Caty got along better with the other girls, Gabi and Caty shared more because they had "family issues" as Caty called them, in common.

"Well…" Caty sighed. "I wasn't put in an orphanage and adopted by my parents. I was left on my mother's doorstep…when she was nineteen."

"Your mother lived alone when she was nineteen?" Ellie asked.

"No. She lived with her parents. I think my birth parents were hoping my mother's parents would take me in, which they did. But my Aunt Dawn-that's Lili's mother-who was thirteen, was hanging out with the wrong kinds of people, and getting into trouble. My Uncle Josh, who was 24, had fallen on hard times, and he and his wife had to move in with my grandparents. And my Aunt Alexia, who was 16, had been in and out of mental facilities since she was 14. She's schizophrenic, but it took until she was 28 for her to get properly diagnosed. So I was pretty much ignored."

"Even as your aunts and uncle got older? I'd imagine by the time you were three or four, your Aunt Dawn made better decisions and your Uncle Josh moved out? Alyssa ventured.

"Oh, uh…I wasn't put on my grandmother's doorstep as a baby. I was already four."

"Really? Do you remember your real parents?" Rae asked.

"Not at all. Not one thing," Caty replied sadly.

"Was there a note or anything for your grandparents? I mean, do you know why you were given up?" Ellie asked.

"No clue," Caty said. "Apparently, my parents had made a pillow out of fallen leaves or something, and I was sleeping with my head on the leaves when my grandmother opened the door to go out and found me. I woke up as soon as she brought me inside and started crying. They didn't even know my name. It was my mother Iris who suggested the name Caitlin after my grandparents decided to keep me."

"Wow," Ellie whispered.

"Wait. Why don't you live with your grandparents then?" Gabi asked.

"Like I said, my grandparents ignored me because they were so busy with my aunts and uncle. My mother was their only normal kid I guess. She stayed out of trouble, got decent grades, and helped out around the house. She was already dating my dad by that time. They'd started going out two years prior and with four little siblings, my dad was really great with kids, and my mother noticed immediately that I was being ignored. Instead of acting like my older sister and her boyfriend, Iris and Jeremy, acted like my parents. Six years later, I was ten, and they'd graduated college and finished grad school and both had their first jobs and Mom moved out of my grandma's house just a month before so she could get a place with Jeremy. My mother thought she was pregnant, and went to the doctor. It turns out she wasn't pregnant, and she couldn't get pregnant. It wasn't impossible, but it wasn't likely either."

"That's terrible," Rae said.

Caty nodded in half-hearted agreement before continuing her story. "My Uncle Josh and his wife, my Aunt Kristin, had moved out by then, but I was still being ignored since my Aunt Alexia was getting worse and my Aunt Dawn was getting arrested every now and then. Iris and Jeremy had went to college in town, and had commuted so they could still see me, the girl they considered their almost daughter. When they realized they may never have a baby of their own, they officially adopted me. I wasn't getting care at my grandparents' house anyway, and Iris and Jeremy had taken such good care of me that I'd taken to calling them Mom and Dad by the time I was five. I love my grandparents, and they love me too, but Iris and Jeremy were much better parents. So I live with them and still call them Mom and Dad."

"But now your Mom's pregnant," Gabi said.

"Like I said, it wasn't impossible. They always told me they love me, and they want another kid, but they didn't want to adopt again. I thought for a long time I was going to be an only child. My parents kept trying, but were never successful. But now my mom is pregnant. She and my dad are only 32, plenty young enough to have a healthy kid, and they're so excited."

Gabi nodded. She knew what Caty was getting at. She wished she had telepathy so she could assure Caty that her parents would still love as much as they do now even with a sister, because she couldn't say that out loud. Then again, Gabi kept complaining that it seemed like Daniel loved Eva more than her, so maybe Caty wouldn't believe her anyway.

"Anyway," Caty said, "I'll go next."

Everyone gave her a concerned look, but Gabi, knowing she wouldn't want to be coddled, handed the bowl to Caty.

Caty picked one and read it. "Sometimes I feel out of place in my family."

"Now there's a secret. We actually have to guess," Gabi said.

"I guess you," Caty replied.

"It's not me," Gabi said.

"I would guess you Caty, but yours was already read," Ellie said.

"It's gotta be you," Gabi said to Ellie.

"It's not me. Are you sure it's not you?" Ellie asked.

"I think she'd know if it was her secret El," Alyssa giggled.

"Well let's see…Rae's secret was revealed and so was mine. That leaves three of us," Caty said.

"It's obviously Lyssa," Rae said. "I knew the minute you read it. And Caty, seriously, were you trying to infuse logic into a guessing game?"

"Logic works in everything."

"She's right though," Alyssa said.

"About it being your secret?" Ellie asked.

"Yeah, it is my secret. But I was talking about the logic thing. Logic doesn't work in a guessing game." She looked at Rae. "How'd you know it was mine?"

"You've never directly said it, but your body language spoke for you. You're close to your mom, and protective of your brother. You're a complete daddy's girl. But sometimes your body language shows you feel awkward and out of place with them."

'Awkward and out of place? I wonder why?' Gabi thought to herself sarcastically.

Meanwhile, Ellie was silently, and secretly, seething. Rae had once again proven she was Alyssa's best friend. Ellie had never noticed anything like that before, but now that she thought about it, Rae was right.

When Ellie, Alyssa, and Adam were younger, and spent every day at Alyssa's house, Adam had noticed something. Every now and then, as the pair walked from Alyssa's place back to their own houses, he'd bring it up.

He'd always ask, "Didn't that conversation between Lyssa and her father seem a bit weird?" or "Did you notice how awkward it was with Alyssa and her mom today?" or "Didn't Lyssa seem a bit uncomfortable at dinner when her family was talking about what they all had in common?" There was even one time when he straight up said, "I think Alyssa feels like she doesn't belong in her family."

Even though they were young, with Adam being the middle child of eleven children and Ellie already dealing with an absent father and cruel mother, both of them were sensitive of family dynamics. Adam picked up on it immediately. Ellie noticed too, but didn't think too much of it. Her family was so screwed up that any family that was whole seemed normal to her. But it always there in the back of her mind that there was something off about the Ashcrofts. She just ignored it.

"Why do you feel that way?" Caty asked.

Rae and Gabi both visibly tensed, but only Caty noticed.

"I'm not really sure," Alyssa shrugged. "It's just…there are things my mother and father and brother have in common that I don't. And I'm a lot like my mother, but, besides my eyes, I feel like I'm nothing like my father. And I love my dad, and like Rae said, I'm a Daddy's Girl, but every now and then, I feel a little awkward with my dad. Like something's not quite right."

Gabi and Rae exchanged tense looks. Once again, Caty noticed, but Alyssa and Ellie didn't.

"Your parents love you Lyssa," Ellie said. "And your brother would do anything for you. Everyone feels a little weird with their family sometimes, but I'd say you're pretty lucky."

Alyssa smiled. "I know. I am pretty lucky."

"So who's next?" Rae cut in, wanting to move away from this subject before she could accidentally blurt out Josh's secret. She was usually good at keeping secrets, but keeping a secret from her best friend nearly killed her.

"Why don't you pick?" Gabi suggested.

Rae nodded, picked a strip of paper and read aloud, "Sometimes, I feel invisible."

Everyone looked at Ellie immediately, who put her hands up in surrender. "Not me," she said.

"Yeah, Ellie always has something to say. No way for a motor mouth to feel invisible," Rae joked. Caty and Alyssa laughed, Ellie pouted, and Gabi remained silent.

"She's in drama after all," Caty added. "So then it must be…"

Everyone turned to Gabi.

"Now how does the most popular girl in school feel invisible?" Alyssa asked, her tone mocking. She was the only one still not on civil terms with the cheerleader.

"At home," Gabi sighed. "Because my dad treats Eva like his real daughter and me like someone whose shit he doesn't want to deal with."

"Gabi, you've been his daughter for seventeen years. He loves you no doubt. He just wants to make Eva feel like part of the family," Caty said.

"The she-devil doesn't deserve to be part of the family!" Gabi snapped, still angry over the 'dress cutting' incident. "And where does she get off calling him 'Daddy' when she and the step monster aren't going to be around for much longer anyway?"

"I know you said your dad's old girlfriends were all gold digging sluts, but he never married any of those women," Caty said. "You said Sienna doesn't really show the same gold digging traits as the other girls, and she and your dad have been together for two years, as opposed to the two months he usually stays with his girlfriends."

"She's no different," Gabi said stubbornly.

"I think you need to learn to accept her into your family. I know that means the family dynamic will change, but I don't think Eva and Sienna are going anywhere."

"Neither is Catherine," Ellie piped up. "So maybe you should take your own advice."

This made everyone laugh.

"That's different," Caty insisted angrily.

Gabi rolled her eyes. "Sure Encyclopedirok," she replied.

"I honestly don't know why that nickname made me so mad before," Caty said.

"It's different when she says it in a malicious tone," Alyssa pointed out.

"Tired of this topic," Gabi said, rolling her eyes. She picked up the last strip of paper. "Okay, so this is obviously Ellie's."

"You don't need to read that," Ellie said casually.

"Of course we do. Those are the rules," Gabi replied matter-of-factly.

Before she could unfold it however, Ellie used air to snatch it out of Gabi's hands. Before Gabi could steal it back with telekinesis, the air guardian ripped it up into tiny pieces, then used air to send the pieces out the window and into the dumpster outside.

"Hey! That's against the rules," Gabi said. "Now you have to tell us."

"No thanks," Ellie replied.

"Ellie, that's not fair. The rest of us played along. Why can't you?" Caty asked.

Alyssa caught Ellie's eye, and the brunette blushed and looked down at her toes.

"Read her mind Classless-a," Gabi demanded. "Those are the rules."

"El, you're secret isn't what I'm thinking, is it?" Alyssa asked

"Depends on what you're thinking," Ellie replied cheekily.

"Like you can't read my mind," Alyssa scoffed.

"…"

"Ellie!"

"You promised you wouldn't say anything!"

"Because you promised you would! You told me it would stop."

"It did!"

"Is that why you sang Mean at the dance today?" Alyssa challenged.

Ellie didn't respond, and avoided Alyssa's eyes.

"Her secret is something about how to ruin a friendship," Alyssa said finally, making Ellie's head snap up. "That's something you know a lot about, isn't it Ellie?"

Ellie looked away again, ashamed.

An awkward silence passed over the girls, but Rae finally broke it.

"An hour must've passed," she said softly.

Everyone else looked up to see what she meant. The rest of Team GRACE was heading downstairs.

"So what're we up to?" James asked, sitting next to Alyssa.

Chris and Josh both looked unhappy at James' seat and both tried to sit on the other side of Alyssa.

"Hey Josh, why don't you come sit here," Rae said sternly, helping Chris win the battle. Josh took a seat next to Rae. Unfortunately for James, this meant they were sitting across from each other and Josh could glare at James all night.

Sage and Cara sat on either side of Gabi.

"What are you doing with Mom's bowl?" Cara asked.

Gabi grinned. "We're playing a game. We write down our secrets, put them in this bowl, pick them out one by one, and try to figure out whose it is."

"Like truth or dare without the dare?" Cara asked.

Gabi smiled. "Exactly."

"How come there are no secrets in there?" James asked.

"Because we already the played. The game is over," Rae said.

"Not for them," Gabi said. "They didn't play. It's time for Chris, Cara, James, Josh, and Sage to write down their secrets. And you guys can protest if you want, but just remember Caty can make you do whatever she wants."

The aforementioned Team GRACE members exchanged looks, and grudgingly agreed. Caty ripped another sheet of notebook paper into fifths and handed them all pens.

"Wait," Josh said suddenly, and everyone paused. "We'll do this…if you guys play too. You don't have to write down big secrets or anything, but they still have to be secrets."

GRACE looked around. They all had little secrets they didn't mind sharing.

"Okay," Gabi agreed as Caty handed out more pens and paper.

"Alright, since I didn't officially get to pick last time since someone broke the rules." Gabi said, glaring at Ellie, "I'll go first."

She picked up a piece of paper and read, "I get nightmares about our first battle in Meridian."

Sage looked at Rae and Caty looked at Ellie, but both of them shook their heads. Ever since Rae got her second power, the nightmares had ceased, and Ellie's nightmares still came, but not as frequently, and she didn't really count that as a secret.

"Who else was around for that battle?" Gabi asked. "I wasn't."

"And Sage didn't get to fight. If it's not Rae or Ellie, it has to be Josh, Chris, Cara, or Caty," Alyssa said.

"Not me," Caty said.

"It was me," Chris admitted.

Cara stifled a giggle. She knew it was him. Everyone else gave him curious looks.

"I just get nightmares about how the battle could've gone," Chris explained. "What would've happened if you guys didn't get lucky."

"Lucky?" Ellie asked.

"Oh, come on El, you have to know we won that battle through pure luck," Caty said.

"That would've been scary," Rae admitted, thinking of her own dreams. "But I didn't imagine you'd be scared."

"I wasn't scared exactly," Chris said, looking uncomfortable. "Just worried."

"Worried?" Gabi repeated.

Now Chris looked sorry this was the secret he'd chosen. "I dreamt that Alyssa died," he whispered.

Everyone stared at him and Chris began to go red.

"She's the one I was closest to in that battle," Chris explained. "I mean, okay, Cara and Josh were there, but they could take care of themselves. Alyssa couldn't and I was just worried about her."

"Wow Chris, that's really sweet," Alyssa smiled.

James raised his eyebrows Chris, as if to say, 'Dude, she's my girl.'

"You know, I wanted to protect you too," Josh grumbled.

Rae and Gabi exchanged fearful looks. Caty rolled her eyes. There was something Rae and Gabi were hiding and she needed to get to the bottom of it.

"You didn't even know me," Alyssa said, confused.

Josh realized what he'd just said and covered quickly by saying, "I mean, you know, I wanted to protect you because the fate of Meridian resided in the hands of the guardians."

"Oh…thanks?" Alyssa said questioningly.

"You know what? I really want some coke," Rae said suddenly. "Josh, come with me."

Josh, knowing what this was about, got up without protest.

"I want to a drink too," Caty said. "Gabi, come with me."

Gabi looked surprised Caty chose her over Ellie, but shrugged and followed her upstairs.

Rae shifted as she filled a glass with ice. She wanted to talk to Josh alone.

"Alright guys, spill," Caty said. "Gabs, you and Rae have been exchanging looks all night. You guys have a secret about Alyssa, and I think you know it too Josh. What's going on?"

The other three looked at each other, not sure how to get out of this one. Caty, with her powers, could force it out of them if she wanted to. They had to tell her.

Josh sighed. "Alyssa is my sister," he admitted.

Caty just nodded for a minute, before giving Josh a really confused look, then cocked her head with a flabbergasted expression on her face before saying in a small voice, "What?"

Josh quickly ran through the story and by the end of it, Caty looked even more confused.

"Wait…what?" she asked again.

"I have a question," Rae said as she waited for Caty to digest the story. "This is the reason I brought you up here. Who else knows about this?"

"Um, Sage does. Chris and Cara know. Mom told Elyon and Drake, so they know. I think that's it, unless Mom also told your parents."

"Cornelia may have," Rae sighed. "I'm having trouble keeping this secret though. I'm usually good with secrets, but this is something I have to keep from Alyssa. She's my best friend. Even in my old town, where I had lots of friends, I never had one I considered my best friend til now."

"I know, and I'm sorry I put you in this position, but I can't tell Alyssa. This'll break her heart."

"Not to mention she'll hate you," Gabi put in. "But you know what might make her hate you more? If she realizes almost everybody knew before she did!"

"It's not 'knowing before her' if I never tell her," Josh said weakly.

"Are you kidding?" Caty asked, finally breaking out of her stupor. "You can't hide this from her forever. She deserves to know!"

"Not to mention there's no way I can hide this from Alyssa for much longer," Rae added.

Josh sighed. "Chris keeps telling me to tell her too. That's what we've been fighting about. He's giving me an ultimatum. Either I tell her by her seventeenth birthday, or he will."

"Her seventeenth birthday?" Caty repeated. "When is that?"

"Next weekend," Rae said. "And you know what? I'm giving you the same ultimatum. Tell her by her seventeenth birthday or I will."

Josh looked troubled and Gabi wanted nothing more than to help him.

"Isn't that a bit harsh?" she asked. "Think about it this way. Alyssa and Josh were separated when they were ten and eleven. He finally gets to see his sister again after six years of only having memories and if he tells her this, she'll hate him again. It's not fair."

Rae and Caty exchanged looks. When she put it that way, it really didn't seem fair.

"Chris has that ultimatum in place already," Caty pointed out. "So it doesn't really matter if Rae backs off or not."

"I'll tell her," Josh said finally. "I'm her brother. She deserves to know that."

"You guys are only half siblings, but you act as if you're full," Gabi commented.

"I don't think it makes a difference," Josh shrugged.

Caty put some water into a glass and said, "Should we head back downstairs before they send a search party?"

"One more questions," Rae said. "Have you ever met my dad?"

"Yes," Josh said.

"Okay, I lied. Two more questions. Did my dad ever cheat on my mom? With a Meridianite?"

Josh looked thoughtful for moment. "Not that I know of," he said finally. "If he did, no one had any knowledge of it."

"So Sage definitely isn't your half-sister," Gabi said with a smile, which also made Rae smile.

Josh looked confused, but didn't question. Instead he said, "I'll put it this way. Mom and Elyon were best friends with your mother. Even though Elyon was closer to your dad, if she knew he was cheating, she would've told your mother. If he ever cheated with someone in Meridian, neither of them had any idea."

Rae nodded, not at all satisfied. Still, she led the group back downstairs where the others were laughing over some joke Ellie told. Even Chris couldn't resist laughing, and had to admit Ellie was just as funny as always. He did remember a time when they were friends, but he couldn't forgive her for abandoning Alyssa, even if Alyssa could.

When the four sat down again, Gabi demanded the game go on. She let Chris pick next.

"I miss my old best friends," he read.

Rae and Ellie both turned to Alyssa immediately. It took the others, even Chris, a little longer to process.

Alyssa blushed and looked down. "Yeah. It…that was about Ellie and Adam. I always kept my head up and pushed through, but I missed them every day."

Ellie opened her mouth to say something, but closed it again, not sure what to say.

Gabi wordlessly gave the bowl to Sage.

"I regret leaving Alyssa. It was the biggest mistake of my life," she read quietly.

Alyssa's head snapped up as she looked at Ellie.

"I guess that's my response," Ellie said.

Everyone else looked at each other awkwardly, feeling like they were intruding on a private moment. Gabi gave the bowl to Cara.

"Mr. Mason is my favorite nickname," she read.

Alyssa went bright red and looked at James who grinned.

"It's true," he said.

"It's not really a secret," Gabi grumbled.

"It was," James insisted, looking into Alyssa's eyes. "But I didn't want it to be any longer."

Ellie and Rae resisted the urge to squeal out loud. Alyssa and James would make the cutest couple.

Gabi smiled, unable to resist James' charm and the undeniable chemistry between him and Alyssa. She gave the bowl to Josh.

"I totally proved girls and guys can be just friends," he read.

"Whose is that?" Gabi asked.

"Caty," Rae said slowly. "You're talking about Jake, aren't you?"

Caty nodded.

After that, all the secrets were silly and not really secrets, but it lightened the mood and helped everyone laugh.

They had just ended the game when Hay Lin came downstairs and said she had something to tell them.

"I thought I'd give you guys some time to bond, and even though this was supposed to be a sleepover just for GRACE, I'm glad you all decided to stay over. I think everyone should hear this. I only called this sleepover in part to help you guys get closer. The other reason is because of what I'm about to tell you," Hay Lin said, more serious than the girls had ever seen her.

First Hay Lin showed them more of the video the previous guardians made. First the boys introduced themselves and told them their role in the guardian universe. Caleb and Matt were obvious. Everyone already knew that Caleb was the rebel army leader and Matt was Shagon. Matt also introduced Huggles and Napoleon and all three of them transformed.

The other boys introduced themselves after that. Each of them had a power essential to the guardians. Nigel could open and close portals and folds and Eric could transform the guardians. These powers were useful for when the guardians needed to transform or a portal and Will wasn't around. There were two other guys in the video. One was Irma's boyfriend, a boy named Martin Tubbs. He had a cute smile, was about a foot taller than Irma, and seemed to have the same build as Caleb. A far cry for the nerd he was in middle school. The other was someone Irma considered her "best friend outside of the guardians" Joel Stevens. GRACE exchanged a look at this, remembering that Irma eventually married Joel.

According to Irma, at first, Martin was the only one to know about the guardians, since he was Irma's boyfriend. As they grew up, Irma, Taranee, and Hay Lin found it harder to keep the secret of W.I.T.C.H., and realized it was either lose their boyfriends once they got tired of their girlfriends keeping secrets, or tell them about W.I.T.C.H. Even though they knew it wasn't practical to tell boys they might break up with and possibly never see again, the Oracle gave them permission, with the warning that should the girls ever break up with their boyfriends, regardless of whether the boy would tell others their secret or not, their memory of the guardians would be erased.

Nigel and Eric got their powers from Elyon granting them a bit of her magic. Both boys also learned how to fight. Martin learned with them and was the most successful. Joel joined the group because he started learning he could predict the future, in a much clearer way than Hay Lin could. He didn't tell everyone at first, but between having Irma as his best friends, and being in a band with the other girls' boyfriends, the secret came out eventually. Since they were all part of Team W.I.T.C.H., the others figured out there was something going on with Joel. When he told them, they realized some of their visions had to do with the guardians and brought him into the group.

Then W.I.T.C.H. came back on camera and explained their second powers, and the full extent of them. Irma explained how eventually Caty would be able to control several minds at once and make people do things they really didn't want to do, Taranee explained emotional links to the girls, young Hay Lin talked about the different things Ellie could do with invisibility, Will talked about Rae's eventual ability to make inanimate objects come to life and do her bidding, and Cornelia told Gabi how she could combine her power of Earth and her telekinesis to make her an even more powerful adversary. Gabi grinned at that.

After Hay Lin turned the video off, Alyssa slyly asked if any of them had broken up with their boyfriends.

"I mean, obviously my parents are still together and you and Eric and Cornelia and Caleb, but what about Will and Matt and Irma and Martin?"

"Um, Irma and Martin broke up," Hay Lin admitted. "And even though he and Irma still stayed close friends, his memory had to be erased. Irma's next boyfriend was Stephen, and somehow she managed to have a relationship with him for almost two years without telling him our secret. She did show him her powers though."

"Are they still together?" Alyssa asked.

"No, they broke up. Last I heard, Irma married Joel."

"Last you heard?" Ellie asked.

"Well, we're not really friends anymore, so I only found out through word of mouth. And I don't know about Will and Matt. They were together the last time I saw them, but they left Heatherfield soon after that."

The girls nodded.

"So what did you have to tell us?" Gabi asked, locking eyes with Josh. They were both clearly thinking the same thing. Maybe Hay Lin was ready to tell them about The Thousand Year Prophecy.

"Okay, well…let's start with a little history," Hay Lin said. "The guardians of the veil have been around for ten thousand years. The first group of girls were chosen ten thousand years ago today actually. They were a group of five girls from Germany named Marie, Anya, Gwen, Isobel, and Corrine."

"Which spells MAGIC," Gabi chimed in, making Ellie and Caty smile.

"Right. Good catch," Hay said, also smiling. "Every thousand years, a special batch of girls are chosen, and they are known as the Thousand Year Guardians. They are very special in three ways."

"What ways?" Ellie asked.

"First, the Thousand Year Guardians are called upon to save every world. The guardians are meant to protect whatever world has a veil placed over it. In cases of no veil being placed over any world, as was the case with CHYKN, and many other groups of guardians, they are to protect Meridian and Kandrakar from harm, and protect any other world that needs protection by discretion of the Oracle or current queen or Meridian. But the Thousand Year Guardians must save every known world."

"That means…Earth too," Alyssa said slowly.

"Yes," Hay Lin nodded. "The second thing that makes these guardians special is their extra power."

"Extra power?" Ellie squeal-asked.

Hay Lin laughed at that. "Yes. The members of the Thousand Year Guardians have one extra power awarded to them that the other batches of guardians don't have. For example, one group had the ability to see the future, the way Joel could. Others had the ability of camouflage. They could blend with their surroundings. It's like invisibility, but not as safe."

"I hope we don't get that. Nothing special about it for me," Ellie grumbled, making Gabi giggle.

"What's the third thing?" Rae asked.

"The third distinguishing characteristic is that each member of the Thousand Year Guardians are direct descendants on one member of MAGIC."

Everyone considered this for a moment before Ellie spoke up. "So what does that mean exactly?"

"It means, that if, say, we were Thousand Year Guardians, then MAGIC would be our ancestors. The water guardians would be my ancestor, the air guardians would be yours, and so on," Caty said. "So that means, with Thousand Year Guardians, there isn't just one member that is chosen for continuity of spirit. All of the members are chosen for continuity of spirit."

"That's right," Hay Lin nodded.

"And the reason you're telling us this in so much detail," Rae said slowly, "must be because we're Thousand Year Guardians."

Hay Lin remained silent, but nodded solemnly.

"I wanted to tell you this before," she admitted after a few minutes.

"But it makes sense for you to tell us today," Gabi said. "Because MAGIC were told about being guardians ten thousand years ago today."

Hay Lin smiled at that.

Gabi, catching sight of Caty, remembered something Josh told her. "Were any of the members of MAGIC related?" she prompted.

"Yes," Hay Lin said. "Not that you mention it. The water guardian Anya and the fire guardian Gwen were sisters. All the girls were seventeen, except Gwen who was fifteen. Actually, besides you guys, MAGIC were the only group of guardians to be chosen after they were fourteen. Usually the guardians are notified by the time they are thirteen or fourteen."

"If Anya and Gwen were sisters," Gabi prompted, "wouldn't that mean-"

"That Alyssa and I are related!" Caty said suddenly. She looked at Josh and Rae and Gabi understood her unsaid sentence. 'And that means I'm also related to Josh.'

"We're cousins," Alyssa agreed. "How come I didn't know?"

"I'm adopted. How would you?" Caty responded.

"Wow, that's crazy," Ellie said.

"Is there a reason we were told of our guardianship so late?" Rae asked suddenly.

Hay Lin nodded. "It's because you're Thousand Year Guardians, so the Oracle wanted to wait to see if there would a time when you were all together, location wise. Like I said, the Heart chooses the Keeper and the Oracle chooses the other guardians. One is chosen because she was related to a previous guardian. But for Thousand Year Guardians, the Oracle looks for the five people who have the closest relation to MAGIC, then chooses which girl should have which element. Usually the Heart chooses a Keeper out of a multitude of girls, but for Thousand Year Guardians, the Heart doesn't get to choose. Its Keeper is automatically the girl who is related to MAGIC's Keeper, Marie. However…"

The girls looked at Hay Lin expectantly.

"However, the Heart can reject the Keeper. This has only happened once, with a group I call POWER. Portia was the girl related to Marie and was supposed to be the Keeper, but the Heart rejected her."

"What happened then?" Ellie asked.

"It is standard for the Keeper to have the power of Quintessence, but it is not required for the guardian of Quintessence to be the Keeper. For example, remember how I told you in my grandmother's time, the Heart's power corrupted Nerissa, so the Oracle passed it on to Cassidy? That's what he did with POWER, who were the fifth generation of Thousand Year Guardians. He passed the Heart on to Winona, POWER's fire guardian."

"But if Portia was the guardian of Quintessence and the Heart rejected her, then what did she do for POWER? She didn't unite them and she didn't have powers," Rae said.

"Well, she still transformed when Winona united them. Like always, without Portia around, POWER would not be as powerful…uh no pun intended. And since POWER were Thousand Year Guardians, they like you, got their second powers early."

"So this time," Alyssa said, trying to ignore the fact that when they first got their second powers, Hay Lin told them she didn't know why they got them early, "since the guardians had to be a specific set of people, what would you have done if Rae hadn't moved here? My dad said something about the Heart exploding if it waited too long."

Hay Lin nodded. "Yes. Once the Heart recognizes that its new Keeper has been born, it has up to sixteen years to be united with its Keeper, even if it plans to reject the Keeper, before it explodes, taking the legacy of the guardians with it."

"So exploding Heart means no more guardians…ever?" Caty asked.

Hay Lin nodded. "The Heart was getting really testy the same day we found you girls. I was going to give it two more days, then go to Kandrakar myself and ask for the Oracle's help. He usually can't tell us who the guardians are, but with Thousand Year Guardians, he can tell me who the guardians are and where they would be so I could unite the Keeper with the Heart. If Rae hadn't moved here, I would've had to go find her myself."

"But if I didn't move here, even if you found me, how would we get to train and stuff?" Rae asked.

"Do you think we've never had that problem before?" Hay Lin asked. "The guardians before my grandmother's time, girls I call FAIRY, had that problem. Their Keeper, Felicity, had moved away just a few minutes before their guardian teacher was going to tell them about their guardianship. In addition, Yolanda, their air guardian, lived in a different town. Thankfully, their guardian teacher was Eileen, the water guardian from the previous generation. Her daughter, Ilana, was the new guardian of Water, and Eileen could use life force from her daughter to tele-transport and get them all in the same place to train them and get them to wherever they needed to go when they were needed."

"What if their guardian teacher wasn't a previous guardian?" Caty asked.

"That's never happened before," Hay Lin said. "Why would anyone else be their teacher anyway?"

Caty had no answer for this, which made Ellie oddly happy.

"So why did you finally tell us about this?" Rae asked.

"Two reasons," Hay Lin said. "The first, are because of these." She gestured to five piles of books behind her. There had to be about one hundred and fifty in all. "Each batch of Thousand Year Guardians have to keep journals to help the next batch. Each of them filled up about three journals. Some filled up four, some only filled up two. You must read each of this diaries. It'll probably be easiest if each of you reads the journals belonging to the girl who had your element in each batch and fill each other in. In addition, you have to keep your own journal." Hay Lin gave them each an expensive looking journal with felt covers, each in a different color. Predictably, Rae's was pink, Gabi's was green, Alyssa's was orange, Caty's was blue, and Ellie's was gray. "Write about everything, including everything that's already happened. Rae, write about how you felt before you received your power of Quintessence. Alyssa, make sure to write about your mother taking your powers again. Gabi, Caty, write about why you decided to quit in the beginning, and what changed your minds. Ellie, write about how excited you were."

"But that stuff's kind of private," Caty said.

"So? There's no reason to be embarrassed because the only people reading these will be the Thousand Year Guardians," Alyssa pointed out. "We'll be long dead before the first batch after us read these journals."

Caty nodded reluctantly.

"Good. I've bought two extra journals for each of you, waiting here for when you need them. Take them with you everywhere, and write in every spare moment so you can fill in what has already happened in your journey as GRACE."

The girls nodded.

"You said there were two reasons you finally told us. What's the second reason?" Alyssa asked.

"That has to do with The Thousand Year Prophecy. This Prophecy explains the final battle you will face. It is the one that will either save or destroy all the known worlds."

"No pressure there," Gabi said, her tone serious.

"It is a lot of pressure," Hay Lin agreed. "But so far, all the Thousand Year Guardians have succeeded."

"So what does this battle entail?" Alyssa asked.

"It varies for each group, but the basic formula is the same. There is an enemy that tries to take over Kandrakar, and the guardians must defeat said enemy in a gruesome battle. At the end, one side will live while the other dies. So far, the guardians have won and all survived while the enemy on the other side died."

"Wait, the enemy tries to take over Kandrakar?" Alyssa asked. "But I thought our enemy was Kasson, who took over Meridian."

"Just because you're Thousand Year Guardians doesn't mean the enemy that takes over Kandrakar is the only enemy you'll have to face," Hay Lin said. "The only difference between you guys and the other groups of guardians is that you guys need to reach Zenith in order for you to defeat your biggest enemy. That's another reason we must wait to tell the Thousand Year Guardians of their powers unless the enemy surfaces early. It's easier to get in and out of Zenith when you're older."

"What is Zenith?" Rae asked.

Gabi shot Josh a terrified look. Josh just shrugged weakly. Clearly he didn't know that the Thousand Year Guardians had to reach Zenith early if they wanted to succeed.

"Zenith. The highest point reached by a celestial object," Alyssa defined.

"Yes. Except this time it refers to humans," Hay Lin said. She explained zenith was the peak of the guardians' powers and they would reach a second transformation when they reached Zenith. She did not however, warn them of the dangers of reaching Zenith early, like Josh had. Gabi looked at Josh, and he shook his head, telling her to keep her mouth shut about what she knew. She wasn't happy about it, but she listened.

"Why didn't you tell us this before?" Caty asked.

Hay Lin held up a scroll. "This holds the actual prophecy. It is an ancient scroll that has been passed down from guardian teacher to guardian teacher. It holds the prophecy meant for the previous batch of Thousand Year Guardians until the new batch is born. The new prophecy, meant for you guys, wasn't revealed until Wednesday, which is why I called a sleepover for tonight."

The girls nodded. Hay Lin read the prophecy, then tried to calm their frayed nerves, but no one, not the guardians, or the other members of Team GRACE could be consoled. No one could get to sleep either, the prophecy consuming their thoughts.

The Guardians of Legend will face an enemy none can imagine. He will take over the world of the Oracle, as happened several times before. Five girls must answer the call and win back the land against all odds.

The girls must find the one who has turned

To find what was stolen and have it safely returned.

They shall be betrayed by one whom they call friend,

And fail to save what matters most in the end.

Despair for a life entombed in stone,

And fail without friends to fly home alone.

Five shall go to save the one in chains

One shall perish in the land without rain.

The bane of Meridian shows the trail,

Only combined may the chosen ones prevail

The curse of Zenith one must withstand,

While one will perish by a parent's hand.

You shall rise of fall by a prince's hand,

The Child of Fire's final stand

Use all you must, even breath

Or lose one you love to a fate worse than death

A child of magic two shall birth

Child of lightning, beware the Daughter of Earth.

Her single choice may end your days,

And Kandrakar to preserve or raze.

So five chosen ones must answer the call

To make sure none of the known worlds fall

Heartache and betrayal they must face

So that they may save every known race.

G.R.A.C.E. G.R.A.C.E. G.R.A.C.E.

A/N: There we go! I really hope you guys enjoyed that. I'm super excited that I got this chapter done, because I have parts of the next chapter done already, and I have a couple events in there that I think a lot of people will really like, so I'm really excited to get that out. There will be more guardian stuff in the chapter after next, but since we covered The Thousand Year Prophecy in this chapter, I didn't want to do an overkill, so the next chapter has a lot to do with the girls' personal life.