Here's chapter 21.

Thanks to the reviews on the last chapter. I actually got influenced by one of the reviews: Lexvan

I liked your idea of an Irma/Taranee catfight, so i took that and worked it in, so credit for that scene goes to you. (:

21-A Point Of No Return

Caleb stared at her blankly for a moment with his mouth half open. Cornelia dropped her gaze to the floor.

"You what?" Caleb managed to half whisper.

Cornelia shook her head, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done it-"

"No, you shouldn't have."

"It just happened, and I regret it-"

"Then why did you?" Caleb had a bitterness to his voice each time her replied.

"I don't know…I guess I needed to know if you were worth all this…and kissing Peter would give me my answer," She stopped to think of what to say next, "And you are."

Caleb took a step backwards. He took in a deep breath, "I've been trying to fix things and you're off kissing Peter?"

"It wasn't like that!" Cornelia protested. "And it's not like it's as bad as what you did!"

Caleb chuckled with sarcasm, "What I did!? Cornelia, we weren't together when I did that with Marianne!"

"That's not what I meant," Cornelia said in a calmer voice than she had been using before, "You lied to me."

Caleb shook his head, "I lied? No, you just presumed that I-"

Cornelia didn't let him finish, "You're right. You didn't lie. You just didn't tell me the truth," she took a few steps back before turning around and walking into Hay Lin's room. Before Caleb could follow she slammed the door on him.

Caleb sighed and walked towards the door. He listened for a few moments, hearing Cornelia's unsteady breathing. He slowly slumped down and sat on the floor, leaning his back on the door, "Cornelia. Listen to me."

There was no reply, but he could tell by her breathing that she too was sitting on the floor, with an ear pressed to the door.

"I thought keeping the truth from you would be a good thing," Caleb started, "I never thought you would find out so there really was no use telling you and letting it lead to a fight." He went on, "But clearly it was a mistake."

Cornelia kept her ear tight against the door, soaking in every word Caleb said. She still hadn't replied, so he decided it wouldn't hurt to say a bit more, "What happened with Marianne may have mattered at the time, but it doesn't mean anything to me anymore."

That was her cue. Cornelia slowly rose from where she was sitting and twisted the lock on the door. Caleb heard the click and shot to his feet.

"I'm sorry." Cornelia said when she opened the door, "For kissing Peter."

"And I'm sorry for not telling you the truth when I had the chance, "Caleb apologized.

Cornelia looked at the floor, "Did you ever love her?"

Caleb pulled Cornelia into an embrace, "Not half as much as I love you," He whispered into her ear.

Cornelia let herself fold into his arms and buried her head in his chest.

Caleb took in a deep breath, "So are we gonna be okay?"

Cornelia pulled backwards and looked him in the eye, "I don't know."

Caleb ran a hand through her hair, and she continued, "I'm tired of fighting."

"I am too."

"But we can't seem to last five minutes without arguing."

Caleb shook his head, "But we always work it out."

"That's not how it should be though." Cornelia almost whispered that, tears stinging her eyes. She could see the hurt on his face. She took his hands off of her waist and shrugged her shoulders. She would have said more, as a form of closure, but Hay Lin bounded down the stairs. She was carrying a large box full of paper plates.

"Corny…I know you might be mad at me for it, but I called over the others." Hay Lin said. "They were reluctant, and it took me forever to convince them to get over here, but they're all coming. In fact, they all agree that maybe we should talk."

Cornelia didn't even look at Caleb after that. She nodded, "Yeah. I agree." She kept her gaze fixed on the floor, "Caleb, maybe it's best if you leave for this."

Caleb didn't argue. He took a few steps backwards before actually turning and heading up the stairs. Cornelia swallowed a lump in her throat as she saw the last of him before he shut the basement door.

Cornelia and Hay Lin sat on the one couch in front of the television in silence. Just a few minutes after Caleb left, Taranee showed up. Another ten minutes past by the time Will arrived, with a head of messy hair. Irma was the one who took the longest. She showed up after about a half an hour of waiting without even an apology for being late.

Hay Lin moved from her comfort on the couch to make room for Taranee and Will to take a seat, and she crossed her legs and made her best effort to get comfortable on the floor. Irma unhappily joined her on the rug.

Hay Lin noticed the awkward silence and strained energy in the room, so she made the first effort to speak, "You guys, please say something!" When no one spoke, she went on, "We've been through so much! If we let this break us apart, all of our efforts will have been for nothing! We might has well of not even become guardians."

Each of the girls heard her words, that was obvious. Taranee and Irma both looked taken aback, and Cornelia and Will raised their eyebrows, taking Hay Lin's words into consideration. Finally, someone other than Hay Lin was talking.

"If you guys aren't gonna start, then I will," Cornelia was leaning on the backrest of the couch, but she rose and straightened her back when she started. "Last summer I went to this promotional party for my Mom. She introduced me to a coworkers son and we ended up hanging out the whole party. I guess I was kind of bitter to him, I mean, I didn't want to be at this party, let alone talk to any sort of guy."

"What's your point in telling us this?" Irma finally said something, ending the silent attitude she was putting on.

Cornelia ignored the rude question and continued on, "Well, he was alright, and when he called the day after asking me to go to a movie I figured I might as well since I sort of needed to move on eventually."

"So you went out with him instead of us!?" Irma glared at her.

"No!" Cornelia glared back, "Listen to me for a sec, okay!?" She waited for a moment before continuing, "When I did realize that he wasn't exactly the best guy to be hanging around with I stopped answering his calls."

"But why didn't you talk to us then!?" Irma demanded, "Three months of silence last year and it was because you were busy sticking your tongue down his throat?"

Cornelia's mouth dropped open, "I'll have you know I didn't kiss him. At all."

Will said her first words of the evening, "So…you still haven't answered. Why didn't you come to us instead?"

Cornelia pursed her lips, "Because! Do you have any idea how hard it was being around you guys!?"

Irma forced a laugh, "Not really." She said sarcastically.

"I wanted to talk with you guys again! But whenever I was around you, all of the memories of Caleb came flooding back."

"Oh…" Irma muttered. She looked at her feet, regretting what she had previously said.

Before the other girls could reply, Will stood up and started, "Matt and I broke up."

Hay Lin jumped to her feet, "What!? Will, no!" She rushed to her friend and pulled her into a hug.

"That's why you were crying in the washroom the other day," Cornelia said softly.

Will nodded and pulled out of Hay Lin's embrace, "It was the right thing to do," she went on, "Jesse kissed him and he didn't tell me. He wasn't going to tell me."

Cornelia nodded, "I've been there," there was a hint of bitterness in her voice.

Taranee shook her head, shooting a glare at Irma, "So have I."

Irma bolted up from her seat on the floor and marched to where Taranee was seated, "I explained it to you! Me and Nigel were some stupid couple of kids!"

Taranee then stood up from her seat, so she was eye to eye with Irma, "But you didn't tell me when you should have! We wouldn't be fighting over this right now if you had told me sooner!"

"We also might not be friends right now if I told you sooner."

Taranee wore a shocked expression on her face; not because of what Irma said, it was the fact that it was true.

The rest of the girls watched silently. Taranee finally spoke. "Maybe that would have been for the better."

And almost as quick as she said it, Irma's palm was slapped flat across her cheek. Taranee's mouth dropped open and reached for Irma's hair, tugging it as hard as she could without having it pulled out. Irma stumbled backwards onto the floor, with Taranee pawing at her insatiably. Irma eventually shoved her off and pinned her on the floor.

Hay Lin and Cornelia dived in and managed to drag Irma off before she caused any real damage. Taranee stood up and wobbled a bit before regaining her balance. She was lucky to come out of Irma's assault with only a scratch. "Are you crazy!?" she shouted.

Irma struggled to escape from the two girls' grip, but was unsuccessful. "How could you say that it'd be better if we weren't friends! Taranee you're one of my best friends!"

"Then why didn't you tell me about you and Nigel!"

Irma finally settled down. Cornelia and Hay Lin loosened their grip but didn't quite let go yet. Irma started, "Because it was nothing! I wouldn't get anywhere telling you that so there was no point."

Taranee's expression for the first time in the week softened by a smidge. She waited for Irma to say something more.

"If it means anything, I really am sorry I didn't say anything." Irma said in one of the most sincere apologies the girls had ever heard, "And I've known Nigel for a long time." She went on, "And he's never looked at anyone the way he looks at you."

Taranee didn't know what to say. She was actually comforted by Irma. The last person she ever imagined would apologize for something was standing before her saying words that meant everything to have come out of her mouth. Taranee wouldn't let herself not forgive her. She took a step forward, slowly.

Cornelia was first to let go of Irma's tense arm, then Hay Lin. Irma and Taranee met in the middle and shared a hug. "I'm sorry I refused to listen to you Irma," Taranee said.

Irma didn't say anything in return.

In the heat of the moment. No one noticed that Will had been completely silent. Cornelia was the first to see the keeper of the heart of Kandrakar standing next to the couch wiping her eyes on her sweater.

"Will," Cornelia pulled Will into a hug and let her cry on her shoulder, "It's gonna be okay." She patted Will's back softy, "Just give Matt a chance to talk to you."

Will stayed rested on Cornelia's shoulder, "How do you know I didn't let him talk?"

Cornelia smiled, "Because you're Will. You don't wait for excuses." Will didn't reply. Cornelia held out her one hand to the other guardians and behind Will's back motioned them over. The moment lasted for a while, just a silent group hug. Eventually Cornelia started, "Will, you have to stop crying."

Will sobbed, "But it's so hard!"

Cornelia shook her head, "No, I'm serious, stop crying." She pulled away from Will and wrinkled her nose at her shirt, "You're getting your tears and snot all over my new shirt."

Will couldn't help but laugh between her sobs after that. Irma exploded into laughter and Hay Lin and Taranee were thrown into a fit of giggles. Cornelia stuck out her tongue, "You guys, it's gross!" But she too began to join in on the laughter. The giggled and laughed until Yan Lin came slowly down the stairs.

"I'm glad to see you girls worked it out." She smiled.

The girls beamed at her.

"I have some news," Yan Lin's face instantly became serious. "I have spoken to the oracle, and Elyon's power is going to be siphoned tomorrow evening in Petrakar."

The girls grins were replaced with looks of concern.

"Sit down," Yan Lin gestured to the couch, where the five squished to fit. When they were settled, Yan Lin continued. "When I was a guardian, there was a point where we had to complete our final mission. When we became successful, we found ourselves in Kandrakar, where the oracle spoke to us."

Hay Lin squirmed, "Grandma, what are you getting at?"

Yan Lin went on, "When you girls complete your final battle, which I'm not positive, but I suspect to be this one," she paused and cleared her throat, "You will be bound to your world. The oracle will close off all ways of transporting between worlds. He will ensure that the heart of Kandrakar, Earth, Petrakar, Meridian and all others can no longer create portals or folds. That is, until the next generation of guardians are summoned."

Irma creased her forehead, "And what's his purpose for doing this?"

"To ensure there is no longer any danger in a world that there shouldn't be. He only summons guardians when it is absolutely necessary."

"And when will we know if this is our final mission?" Taranee asked.

"After the battle you face tomorrow. If you find yourselves in Kandrakar…then the Oracle shall make this all clear."

Cornelia shook her head, "So if it is…we can't go to Meridian anymore?" she wanted the answer to be yes, you can still return. They all wanted it to be that, but they knew it wasn't.

Yan Lin shook her head, "As I said, the oracle will explain this all. But I suggest you all be prepared to say goodbye."

Yeah...that whole thing with Yan Lin is going to be explained much better soon.

I hoped you guys liked this. I didn't plan for the whole makeup scene to be a whole chapter, but it ended up that way. Since it was it's own chapter, one of the next few is going to be quite lone, so be ready for that.

Wow, we're nearing the end of the story. ):

I really hope you guys are liking it so far, and I'll try to update as fast as I can.

As always, review!