Chapter 20

Always Be Prepared

Traxlor

Traxlor was covered in bodies. Nearly every square inch of the planet surface was littered with unmoving bodies. Some were natives of Traxlor and now shone bright, as did all of those under Life's control. The majority, however, had never set foot on Traxlor before this day. They were the beings collected during the travels of Life and Death, and they numbered in the trillions. Awake, they were an unstoppable wave of people, each obeying the orders of their master, either Life or Death. For now, however, they lay unconscious on the ground, like a carpet of humanity. Their dormancy was mimicked by their masters, as was its temporary nature.

On the shattered plains that used to contain the capital city of Traxlor's largest continent, Death and Life began to stir. In unison, they pushed themselves off of the dirt and regained their composure. Upon spying each other, both took a defensive stance, not having forgotten what they had previously been doing.

"A truce?" Death suggested.

"Fine. For now." Life said reluctantly. "Now what just happened to us?"

"It felt… familiar, did it not?"

"It was unpleasant, that's for sure. Are you implying what I think you are?"

"It's the only possible explanation." Death said. "What else could have hurt us so?"

"Those girls…?"

"We're easily distracted simply by that winged drone of yours."

"But how is this possible?" Life asked. "I'm beginning to remember the time before, and she caught in that blast with us. She should have been in the same state we were."

"Unless she was awoken, like we were." Death countered. "I believe now is the time to blame those girls."

"Then it's true…"

"Yes." Death replied. "We are once more dealing with the Heart of the Universe. The one being who managed to defeat us before now threatens our second reign before it's even begun."

"But we are not the creatures we were before." Life said. "There will be no holding back this time. Once we find her…"

"That, however, appears to be somewhat of a problem." Death replied. "She is no longer on this planet. Surely what ever knocked us out affected them as well, but obviously not to the same degree. Still, we will find her. I can sense her energy."

"Can you though?" Life asked. "Because I've been trying, and I can't get a read on her."

"You're right." Death said, obviously annoyed. "But that's impossible. A being in control of that much energy should be a beacon. How is she hidden from me?"

"It doesn't matter. We'll find her eventually. Or she'll find us. Either way, her fate is inevitable."

"Then our search begins, and let those harboring her quake with fear." Death said, preparing to take off.

"Hey!" Life shouted. "I haven't forgotten about our earlier disagreement."

"Nor have I. Once this is over, I will be happy enough to dispatch you." Death replied.

"I'd like to see you try." Life said with a smile.

And with that, Life and Death took to the skies, their congregations followed, and the population of Traxlor was now, and forever more, zero.

Kandrakar

Gabriella was admiring the columns and archways of her new home when she felt her consciousness expand. It was gradual at first, as if she was seeing herself through someone else's eyes. She felt her mind begin to drift away from Kandrakar, until the fortress and everyone in it was just a speck of cosmic sand. Suddenly she knew the name of every person on every world. She knew their lives, their dreams, their hopes and their pain. She felt herself continue to drift ever outwards, until…

She awoke with a start on a bed in a strange white room. She groggily rubbed her head, and tried to focus on what was around her. There were many strange objects the likes of which she had never seen, but she recognized the man beside her. Himerish watched carefully as she propped herself up in bed.

"How long?" She asked.

"A few hours." Himerish replied. "A little bit longer then last time."

"Rupert? The kids?"

"They don't know. We told them we were running some standard tests on you. Rupert objected, naturally. How do you feel?"

"Um, I don't know, a little dizzy I guess. Disoriented. Mostly tired though. Is that normal?" Gabriella asked.

"I'm afraid there is no normal." Himerish replied. "We at Kandrakar have seen many things, but you are quite unique."

"Yeah, I'm getting that a lot lately." Gabriella said, sliding her legs of the side of the bed. For the first time, she took a good look at the room around her. The walls, floor and even ceiling were lined with the oddest assortment of devices that Gabriella had ever seen. Each one looked as if it was out of a storybook from her childhood, and they almost seemed too bizarre to be real.

"Where am I? What is this place?" She asked.

"This is a special room we designed especially for you." Himerish said, glancing around. "The entities we know as Life and Death found you due to your unique energy, as we did. However, they did so subconsciously. Now that they know of your existence, it will be much easier for them to track you down."

"Please tell me this room stops that." Gabriella said.

"We certainly hope so." Himerish replied. "This room consists of a wide variety of devices and energy sources from around the universe. Never before have so many powerful devices been placed in one room. It is our belief that their diverse energy signatures will be enough to block out even your powerful presence."

"And if they don't?" Gabriella asked.

"Then we'll know of our mistake very quickly, but not for very long." Himerish replied.

"Not all that reassuring. Can I at least see my family?" Gabriella asked.

"Soon, yes, but for now you have more urgent visitors." Himerish said, opening the door.

With an air of confidence that Gabriella quickly saw through, Will lead the Guardians into Gabriella's protective chamber. Almost in unison they stopped to gaze at the artifacts around them.

"Woah. And my mom thinks my room is messy." Irma said, gazing about.

"If we could focus on the matter at hand…" Himerish said.

"Right. Well, first and foremost, how are you feeling Gabriella?" Will asked.

"I'm alright." Gabriella lied. "What's this all about? Is something else happening to me?"

"No." Taranee replied. "Well, not yet."

"We need to talk endgame." Will said. "To put it bluntly, you are our only hope. If something happens to you, it's game over for all of us. And by all of us I mean the universe and every living thing in it."

"But, you know, no pressure." Cornelia said.

"When Life and Death get here, and let's face it, it's a matter of when, not if, it's going to be kill or be killed." Will continued. "They're either going to take you down, or we'll make sure they die trying. This is a no quarter kind of battle."

"Do you think we can actually beat them?" Gabriella asked. "They seemed so powerful before, and I wasn't really sure what I was doing…"

"We're the Guardians. We always come out on…"

"No. I don't think we can beat them." Will interrupted.

The girls stopped and stared at Will, who merely maintained her gaze on Gabriella.

"Wait, what?" Gabriella asked. "If we can't beat them, then is this over? Are we all doomed?"

"Yeah, kind of wondering that myself Will." Hay Lin added.

"Will says she has a plan." Taranee said. "Now would be a great time to let us in on it."

"Remember that prophecy Endarno warned us about?" Will asked.

"The one where we destroy the universe? Yeah, kind of hard to forget." Irma said.

"It's also the one we're trying to avoid right now." Cornelia added.

"Well I'm going to fulfill it." Will said.

Meridian

"Rosetta's." Raythor said.

"Yes! Rosetta's! That was the name!"

Drake pumped his fist in excitement, while the rest of the Honor Guard snickered.

"Hey, I remember Rosetta's!" Caleb said. "They used to sneak us meat pies during the rebellion. Best meals we ever had. Morale shot through the roof after Rosetta days."

"They were the best! Oh, I can taste it now." Drake replied, licking his lips.

"How'd you know about that place Raythor?" Vathek asked.

"Back when Phobos had just come into power, you know, the good old days? When we were all trying to kill each other?"

"Matter of opinion."

"Meh. Anyways, my first job was to run a six man garrison." Raythor continued. "I was only starting to work my way up through the ranks. Bunch of local thugs and I would go around town trying to limit the trouble you boys were causing. We'd shake down some local businesses too, trying to intimidate the owner, or just score a few free pints. One day we get to Rosetta's…"

"If you hurt her, you're off the team." Caleb said.

"Well, we were going to the first time." Raythor replied with a smile. "She bribed us with a free dinner. Needless to say, we never bothered her again. Best Horuvian Soup I've ever had. Every patrol we'd swing by and see what we could get. By the end we actually started paying just to make sure we'd get the fresh stuff."

"How did she do it?" Drake asked. "I've tried so many times to replicate that soup…"

"Yeah, so did we." Raythor replied. "I once lied and said we thought there were rebels hiding in the back just so we could search the kitchen for the recipe. Never did find it. Man, I'd kill for that soup again."

"Or you could just buy it." Julian said, walking into the room.

"The building got destroyed in one of our final fights." Caleb said.

"But she didn't. And they're rebuilding it as we speak."

Will and Cornelia made their entrance as Raythor's jaw hit the floor.

"Hey Cornelia, you hungry? I know a place…" Caleb said with a smile.

"Also, I believe I've won." Julian interrupted with a smile.

"Won what?" Will asked.

"Damn, he's right." Raythor said. "We had a bet going about when you girls would bring trouble to our door step again. And Julian got it within a week."

"What makes you think we've got trouble?" Cornelia said.

"Do you?" Raythor asked.

"Well… yes."

Raythor simply shrugged and leaned back in his chair.

"Alright, what is it this time?" Caleb asked, perching his feet atop the opposing table. "Anyone we know? Is it on Meridian."

"Look, we just spent 4 hours preparing a plan, so we're going to wait until everyone else is here before we explain everything." Will said. "Trust me, it's complicated."

"How about a teaser?" Vathek asked.

"The fate of the universe is at stake, we're dealing with power levels we've never seen before, and it is almost certain that you will all die." Will said.

The present members of the Honor Guard stared at her with mixed levels of disgust and annoyance.

"Didn't she used to be the cheerful one?" Drake asked at last.

"I assume fate of the universe includes Meridian?" Caleb asked.

"Yes. If we fall, so does Meridian." Cornelia replied.

"You know we're down a man, right?" Julian asked. "Walli…"

"We're working on that." Cornelia said with a knowing smile.

"Now, we can't force you to fight this." Will included. "The power of our enemies dwarf's even our own. You probably won't last more then a second next to these creatures. There's a large part of me that doesn't want you there at all. So if you…"

"Please, you had us at fate of the universe." Caleb interrupted. "You need us? You've got us."

"Really? Just like that?" Cornelia asked.

"Just like that." Caleb replied. "We've been getting restless here anyways."

"Crack those knuckles and sharpen those swords boys." Raythor said with a grin. "Looks like we're back in action."