Disclaimer: I own neither the WITCH cartoon-show nor Jackie Chan Adventures; they are the property of their respective creators, writers, and producers.

A/N: Greetings once again, dear readers. Long time not seeing each other, right? Life's been kinda complicated these last months, but I won't bore y'all with the details. Also, the huge amount of writer's block I had in order to get this chapter out hasn't helped. Anyway, good news! As this 25th chapter is published, in 2018, this little tale of mine has surpassed the 200 reviews! Yay! To all of you there, at the other side of the screen, thank you for taking some of your life's time and dedicating it to read what I write. After saying that, another piece of information for you all: Counting this chapter we've got 7 chapters left until the first season finale. And having said that, let's get to the chapter. Please, enjoy your read.

Guardians, Wizards and Kung-Fu Fighters

Episode Twenty five

The Enemy of my Enemy

Meridian, a forest's clearing; midday

Forests always produced a dichotomic effect on Captain Lothar. A part of him, the one that was just a meridianite man and that had once been a boy that used to sneak away from his parents to run and play near the trees... that part of him loved forests. He loved the mix of aromas that came from the trees, flowers and other types of vegetation. He loved the tranquility that the silence of forests provided, only broken by the birds' chirping and the noises of other animals.

The part of him that was a soldier, however, disliked them. This was not out of some petty reason, but because he found forests as the perfect terrain for small groups of enemies (be it bandits or rebels) to perpetrate sneak attacks upon him or his men. This clearing in particular, where Lothar was sitting atop a large rock, was the perfect spot to get ambushed. However, he knew he was safe. The Rebellion had ditched their skirmishes-based tactics ever since their triumph at Torus Filney, after all.

It had been a few hours since he had sent the platoons that he had taken from the Capital out to scout this area. They would be back soon, he hoped. Light of Meridian, it was hot... As the wind blew and Lothar swept a drop of sweat away from his brow, he closed his eyes and let his mind to go back to the Capital and the palace...

The royal palace; several days ago

Captain Lothar walked into the throne room's direction. Around him, he only saw the devastation the last battle had inflicted upon the corridors and halls of the castle, with Lurdens carrying the corpses of their deceased brethren in order to give them a proper burial. The Captain knew now of the reason behind the attack of those Lurdens and Shapeshifters, all of them having been previously placed under the power of a spell that controlled their minds and forced them to act against their will. But who had casted that spell?

Archmage Daolon Wong. That had been the name some of the Lurdens and still terrified servants in the castle's hallways had given him. And that was the name of the man that Lothar now knew responsible for the madness that had befallen the Capital just a few hours ago, a man that had apparently disappeared after his failed attempt to kill Prince Phobos and take the throne for himself.

Pity they didn't kill each other, Lothar thought as he walked in the throne room's direction.

Would that have solved anything, though? Lothar doubted the Rebellion would stop its advance and let the nobles and the Princess take control of the realm peacefully if Phobos were not to die by their hands. And would the Princess desire to take the throne peacefully if her brother was killed? Or would she rather burn Meridian down with her almighty power in order to avenge her sibling? Truth to be told, Lothar knew nothing about Elyon Escanor. He knew nothing of how she was or what she wanted for this world.

The Captain of the Guard shook his head, fastening his walk. As he approached the entrance that led to the throne room, now without any door, and crossed it he reminded himself that there were more important matters at hand and that he should let those questions to leave his mind.

What he saw inside the throne room made that a lot easier than he had first thought.

Phobos' throne room wasn't exactly the most welcoming of rooms within the castle, and the Thorn Throne was called that for a very good reason. However, you could still identify it as a throne room. The chamber Lothar had entered in, however, had more in common with something out of the nightmares of some depraved mind than with an actual throne room.

The only remains of the old throne room were the cracked floor and ceiling, and the throne itself, also cracked and looking slightly deformed; as if it had been broken down to pieces and then reformed with little care. The rest of the room was now composed of thorns and vines; some of them thin and some others thicker than the thickest of trees. They sprouted from the ground and covered all the room's walls and windows, just to converge at both the throne's top and bottom. And the most terrifying part? They were moving, reminding Lothar more of the appendages of the few octopi he had seen in his life than of actual vines.

The occupants of the room were what shocked him the most. The one he had been expecting to encounter, Prince Phobos Escanor, clearly bruised and hurt, clothes torn apart in several places and hair messy and dirty. He was holding a short and golden scepter in his right hand, and one of the thorny vines was wrapped around his waist. At one side of the throne room stood a Lurden, possibly there to report for the actions of his controlled brethren. At the opposite one stood Lady Miranda, doing her best to conceal a worrying expression behind a cold one. She wasn't making a lot of success. And kneeling on the ground was no other than Lord Cedric, dressed in his greenish robes… and practically groveling at the Prince's feet.

"My liege," the Snake of Cavigor said, head bowed down; "you must believe me. What reason would I have…?"

Before Cedric had time to finish his question, Phobos pointed the golden scepter towards him and unleashed a torrent of lightning that struck the Shapeshifter and made him scream in pain and agony. "Then where were you, Lord Cedric, MY Shapeshifter?!" Phobos shrieked. "Where were you when the traitors tried to dispose of me, where were you when chaos had taken over my palace?!" Phobos seemingly calmed down, but his eyes still shined with wrath. "Perhaps you have been aiding Wong in secret all this time, and the reason you didn't show up at all, was so you could easily claim victory alongside whoever of the two of us became victorious, just like the filthy snake you are."

"I always have been loyal to you! I always will be!" Cedric was able to proclaim over more screams. "I was trapped, I swear! Lady Miranda and the Lurdens can tell you!"

Phobos stopped the lightning, giving a side glance to the Lurden. "Is that true?" the Prince asked. He had asked of the barbarian, of course. Very little was known of Lady Miranda before she started to serve under the Prince, but Lothar knew for a fact that she had first entered into the palace guided by Cedric's hand.

"It's true," the Lurden answered carefully in his growling voice, fearing that the next round of lightning would be for him. "We found the Lord in a cell, trapped in chains with wicked purple magic, just like the pale demon's."

Phobos narrowed his eyes first at the Lurden, then at Cedric. On the ground, the Shapeshifter gasped for air, a hand over his chest. Slowly, he raised his head to look at the Prince in the eye. "My lord, please think about it;" the Snake said, using the most powerful weapon he could employ, words. "Why would I want to betray you who raised me from the task of a mere prison warden to the one of a Lord? And even if I did, why wouldn't I do it sooner? Why not… give the Princess to the Guardians and the rebels in exchange of a pardon and a seat in their new regime?"

Lothar could see how Cedric's words were having a clear effect on the Prince, the latter lowering his scepter after a few moments. The Captain, however, wasn't so convinced. Cedric was known for his manipulations, and after a few words with Lady Galiene, she had told the Captain that Servantis had always blamed some of Phobos' most reckless actions (such as the one of invading Zamballa before the Veil was raised) as a result of Cedric talking him into doing so. Could it be that the Prince was right in his last accusation? That Cedric had played Wong and Phobos against one another in order to side with the victor and obtain more power?

"You are free to go," Phobos declared, gesturing towards both Cedric and Miranda, the spider quickly coming to the snake's side as soon as the Prince spoke, and helping him to come to his feet. "Tell that falcon Shapeshifter that she will be given the same rank as you two, and all the privileges that come with it."

"Very well, my lord;" Miranda was the one to answer. "As for the other Shapeshifters Wong produced…"

"Kill them," Phobos interrupted Miranda, who alongside Cedric and Lothar, looked at the Prince with a shocked expression.

"My lord…" Cedric muttered. "Surely there is a better use we could give…"

"They were used against me," Phobos said bitterly, turning his back to the two Changelings. "I want them dead, especially the four ones that dared to attack me directly. I want them all dead, I want that traitor Wong's laboratory burnt down to ashes, I want his and Tracker's heads on spikes, and I want it NOW!"

But they are just children, a horrified Lothar thought. They aren't even from this world. You have no right!

Phobos, meanwhile, glared at the pair of Shapeshifters over his shoulders. "Don't tempt my patience now, Cedric. Do as I command, or I swear I will put the tradition of skinning Shapeshifters alive of this world to practice on you two. Now… leave." Phobos eyes fell over Lothar then, and the Captain couldn't avoid shivering at that look. "I wish to speak with the Captain of my Guard… alone."

"As you wish," were the last words Cedric said before he and Miranda left the room.

As the pair of Shapeshifters passed by his side (without dedicating so much as a glance towards him), Lothar advanced forward. By the time he reached the center of the throne room, Phobos was back on his throne. Light of Meridian, the words Thorn Throne suited it much better now...

"Captain..." Phobos said, letting the scepter to simply fall from his hand. Lothar doubted he needed to sit on the throne anymore, as the vine that was wrapped around his waist seemed to be supplying him with energy, but the Captain supposed the Prince wanted to leave clear who was the one in control. "Tell me..." Phobos winced slightly after saying that, rubbing his shoulder. "Agh... report! Where were you and the Guard when Wong attacked?!"

"Prince Phobos," Lothar said using a voice as humble and loyal as he could use with someone like the Escanor Prince. As he spoke, he kneeled. "The Guard was protecting the palace and the rest of the Capital from Wong's army, as it is its duty."

"A duty you have failed to accomplish," Phobos accused Lothar in a harsh and angry tone, "seeing how those conspirators were able to get so close to me!" Phobos took one of his hands to his straw blond hair, taking a small rock from it. "Was Tracker apprehended, at least?"

"No, my lord;" Lothar answered. The words 'my lord' felt like ashes on his throat. "He escaped."

"Same as Wong, then;" Phobos lamented, hatefully pronouncing the name of the former Archmage. "I want platoons of the Guard searching for them day and night. It doesn't matter how far away you must go or for how long you must search, but I want them captured and delivered at my feet!"

"My lord, with all due respect;" Lothar said then, rising to his feet; "the Guard is needed in the Capital. The Rebellion gets closer to the Meridian Plains with every day that passes, and if they defeat the nobility's army there, the Capital will be their next target. We can't leave the commoners unprotected. You can't expect me…"

"I can't, Captain Lothar?" Phobos asked in a calm and dangerous tone. He rose from his throne and walked towards the Lurden, who trembled nervously as the Prince approached him, yet didn't move. Phobos stared at the Lurden, and then turned his head around to look at Lothar. "I can't?"

Before Lothar had any time to react, Phobos turned his head once again, this time far more violently, and gripped the Lurden's neck with both hands. With a primal and furious yell, the Prince started to siphon the barbarian's life-force. As for the Lurden warrior, he couldn't even scream, instead standing powerless and afraid as the Prince took every bit of life that was inside of him. Once he was done, Phobos threw him at the ground, where the Captain could see how the Lurden, of burgundy skin and muscled body in life, had been reduced to a grey, skinny, wrinkled and lifeless husk.

"I believe I can, Captain;" Phobos declared, walking towards a horrified Lothar (stepping over the Lurden's corpse while doing so) and stopping just a meter away from the Captain. Lothar hadn't noticed it, but his hand had instinctively moved towards his sword, albeit he doubted his trusted blade could be of any use against the Prince and his magic. "You and the Guard will fall in line, you all will obey me, or I will do the same thing I just did to this Lurden to every man, every woman, every child and elder of this city! Am I clear, Captain Lothar?!"

Lothar's eyes fell over the corpse of the Lurden as Phobos spoke. For a second, he thought about unsheathing his sword and fighting Phobos right there and then, even if it was in exchange of his own life. But then Lothar's mind changed the shape of the Lurden to the one of an innocent man, then to the one of an innocent woman, and last to one he knew all too well. The one of Tash, Tynar's son.

He then looked into the Prince eyes and saw madness reigning over fury and hatred. It was clear to Lothar from that look alone that Wong's betrayal and failed coup, together with the fact that the wizard and the Tracker were still out there, hadn't had a positive effect over the Prince's already deteriorated mind. He would really do it, without hesitation. He would remorselessly kill every peasant that crossed his way just to punish the Guard.

Knowing that not playing the part of the obedient soldier would result in disaster, Lothar bowed to Phobos. "As clear as crystal, my Prince;" he said.

"Excellent," Phobos said, calming down and starting to turn around. "You may leave... what?"

"My lord?" Lothar, already preparing himself to leave the throne room, inquired.

"You just told me..." Phobos muttered, a dumbfounded expression on his face. "You... what?" he whispered, looking at his side. The thorny vine around his waist started to supply him with more energy, and Phobos' confusion seemed to grow momentarily before his expression returned to a stoic one. "Nothing. Leave me now, Captain." Phobos' eyes narrowed one last time. "And do not fail."

Now

Lothar opened his eyes, his sight taking a few seconds to accommodate itself to the light of the day again. He descended from the rock he was sitting over, walking away from it and towards the clearing's border, where he leaned against a tree. He didn't need to wait a lot longer before one of his Sergeants, a Galhot that looked way older than him, emerged from the woods.

"Anything?" Lothar inquired.

"Nothing, sir;" the guard answered. "No signs of the undead or the wizard, at least in the woods." The Sergeant paused for a moment before speaking again. "If ya' asked me, sir... we're just losin' our time. Wong's a smart bastard, and the Tracker's got to know a lot more than us about these lands, if we go by the legends. We won't be findin' them so easily."

"I know, Sergeant;" Lothar told his underling. He knew too well that, albeit letting Wong and Tracker to remain at large was dangerous, both wizard and undead lacked the means to become an imminent threat. But what to do, then? Phobos grew madder with every new day, the Rebellion grew mightier in turn (and frankly, a part of Lothar was starting to take the possibility of the nobility being unable to defeat them as something far more likely to happen than before), and according to some of the servants inside the castle Phobos had ordered an attack over the home of Charles Ludmoore, the King Smuggler escaping and possibly on Meridian already, with an army of spies at his disposal and surely wanting to enact revenge against the Prince. And to top it all Cedric may be playing them all for fools. His hand went to the leathery bracelet that little Tash had once made for the late Tynar. What to do, indeed?

"Sergeant," Lothar called. "Gather the rest; we are going back to the Capital."

"Sir?" the now confused guard asked. "But I thought the Prince ordered..."

"We are not here for the Prince," Lothar interrupted his interlocutor. "We are here for the people, and if I... we can't protect the Capital from the Prince or the rebels, then better make sure that no one can be harmed if the Capital is attacked."

"Sir?"

"We are going to take them out of it," Lothar declared, stopping leaning against the tree and looking at the sky. "All peasants, little by little, will be taken out of the Capital."

"To where?" the Sergeant wondered.

"To anywhere," Lothar declared. "Anywhere... where they can be safe."

Across the Veil; the remnants of Villa Ludmoore; night

Villa Ludmoore had once been a sight to behold. The old and beautifully built manor presiding over the fields of blue roses was able to inspire some emotion even in the souls of the most stonehearted of people. Now, however, that sight was lost. The explosion of the manor had created enough heat and a shockwave strong enough to trash the entire villa. And thus, the blue roses were no more.

During the days that followed the manor's explosion Heatherfield's Police Department had conducted an intense investigation in order to discern the causes of the explosion and what had happened to Charles Ludmoore, the (at the time) only occupant of the building. Albeit said investigation had yet to conclude, the police had settled for the theory that the manor had exploded due to a gas leakage, and that Charles Ludmoore had died as a result of that.

For the Guardians of Kandrakar and the Chan Clan, the five teenage winged girls clad in pink and greenish-blue flying across the night sky and the three Chans, Viper and Tohru on the ground; that theory wasn't all that satisfactory.

"Do you see something out of the ordinary?" Will asked as she stopped in midair.

"You mean besides the ruins of the manor that went ka-boom?" Irma asked as she stopped by Will's side, pointing to the remaining debris of the Ludmoore Manor, still to be fully cleaned by the excavators that were parked around. "Nothing much," the Water Guardian said, shrugging.

"Same here," Hay Lin told the redhead, halting at her other side. She jawned afterwards.

"Not seeing a lot doesn't help matters. Can't you make those bigger?" Will heard Cornelia's voice at her back, followed by Taranee's.

"You know we're supposed to not be calling attention, right?" the Fire Guardian said as she flew in front of Will, with Cornelia remaining behind. Around Taranee, several balls of fire the size of a grown man's fist were floating and providing them with some light.

Will overlooked the villa and destroyed manor as she listened to her friends. Just by the looks of it, it was easy to see why the police and the city hall had decided to go with the gas leakage theory. It was the most probable option... if you ignored what Charles Ludmoore did in his free time. However, having his dealings with both sides of the meridianite war in mind... well, let's just say that it made the gas leakage theory far from the best one.

"Let's get to the ground," Will told her team, the five teenagers slowly descending. Once they had landed, the Keeper of the Heart turned her head to look at the approaching Chan Clan. "Did you find something?"

"Nope," came Jade's voice, alongside the light of a flashlight that Jackie was carrying. "Couldn't sniff anything relevant. There're too many scents here, and they're mixed. Ash, burned flowers..." the black-haired Chan girl sniffed the air one more time; "and a bunch of people I don't know, who're probably from the police."

"Uncle, have you...?" Jackie began to ask of his elder, but the old Chinese man was quick to deliver a dope slap to his nephew's forehead, interrupting his question.

"Has Uncle said anything about completing his spell?" the old Chi Wizard inquired as he walked past Jackie, swinging his dried blowfish in the air. "Apprentice, help Uncle!"

"Yes, sensei;" Tohru said, carrying his own blowfish.

The sumo positioned himself at the old man's side, their blowfishes beginning to shine with green chi. They chanted 'Yu Mo Gui Gwai Fai Di Zao' several times, until the chi coating the blowfishes began to expand itself and it became a wall of green that then broke into several small balls of energy. Each ball then became of a different color, with the only one that was white becoming the brightest of them all. The balls proceeded then to disolve into sparks, the spell finished.

"So?" Viper asked. "What does that mean?"

"Uhm..." Uncle muttered. He then turned to face Cornelia. "Can Earth Guardian make a flower grow here?"

Without saying anything, Cornelia shot her arm downwards and made a pinkish rose to sprout from the ground. To her surprise, the rose began then to become blue, then black... and then began to burn in dark blue flames, until only ashes remained.

"Well that's... new;" a dumbfounded Cornelia said.

"Too much magic on the earth..." Uncle whispered, taking a hand to his wrinkled chin and rubbing it. He looked at the ruins of the manor once again. "There was a battle here, one in which a huge amount of Raw Magic was used..." Uncle narrowed his eyes; "and in which a Heart-wielder took part."

"Elyon was here?!" Cornelia shouted, knowing that it must have been her friend.

"It... makes sense," Taranee commented, adjusting her glasses. "Elyon should have enough power to do this. But why would she?"

"I bet Phobos convinced her to do so," Will suggested. "With Elyon and her power on his side, why keep a neutral party like Ludmoore around? It'd give him more problems than help."

"So... you think Ludmoore's really dead?" Irma wondered.

Looking first at the brunnette and then at the rest, Will proceeded to rub her eyes. "I don't know. I mean, he should be considering all this damage, but..."

"But you think someone like him would have thought about the possibility of being attacked," Jackie ended the phrase for her; "and have something planned in advance."

"Exactly," Will told the martial artist, dedicating one last look at the thrashed villa afterwards. "We aren't getting any valuable information from here. Let's get home, we need some rest."

A day later; Sheffield Institute; morning

Dean Collins had begun his days as a teacher in Sheffield with quite the enthusiasm. However, and like many teachers that were entrusted with teaching a class full of teenagers before him, Mr. Collins hadn't found the task to be easy. While his students were far away from being the perfect group of pupils, they were also far away from being the worst. The ones that actually wanted to learn something (or at least get a good grade) were always paying attention, and the ones that came to school just to pass the time or out of obligation were kind enough to not disturb the others.

And yet, as he stood in front of Wilhelmina Vandom's desk, looking at the sleeping redheaded girl, he couldn't avoid feeling a bit offended. He didn't ask much of these kids… but falling asleep during class was something that Dean Collins couldn't tolerate.

"Miss Vandom," Professor Collins called the girl's name, making her to move a little in her sleep. He noticed how Cornelia Hale was growing nervous a desk away from Will. "Miss Vandom," he called again, a little stronger. "Will!"

"W-What?!" the teen shouted as she was abruptly awakened. It took her several seconds to discern where she was and what she was doing, but as her brain took in what was happening, her cheeks grew as red as her hair. "Uh… sorry?" she said to Mr. Collins, who looked at her in disapproval.

"In my office," Mr. Collins told the teen with a sigh; "after classes."

Will groaned, but didn't say anything as the teacher turned his back towards her and walked away from her desk.

"Ha! Looks like someone just got some good old detention time," Will heard a bratty and arrogant voice from the end of the class. "Can't say I blame you, Vandom. These classes are boring as hell."

"Shut up, Uriah…" Will said between grinded teeth.

Across the Veil; the Castle; Cedric's chambers

"Are you sure the Prince didn't hurt you too much?" Miranda asked of Cedric, the girl sitting on the Lord's large bed. As for the green-robed blond man, he was currently standing, writing something in the red book he used to communicate with his older brother. As he finished and closed the book, he turned to look at Miranda with a warm smile.

"I told you Miranda, my dear, I heal fast;" Cedric told the raven haired girl before taking her head between his hands and delivering an affectionate kiss to her forehead. "You worry unnecessarily."

"Phobos is starting to get suspicious," the spider said, still worried. "Wong's betrayal, no matter how much it played according to our plans, has left him more paranoid than ever. Aren't you worried?"

"Paranoia doesn't equal intelligence," Cedric reassured his beloved, sitting at her side on the bed. She took the opportunity to lean her body against his, head resting on his shoulder. "If Phobos was half the smart he believes himself to be, he would have figured me out long ago. This operation went as smooth as possible."

"What if he discovers what we did with the children Wong granted shapeshifting powers to?" Miranda asked, eyes closed, letting Cedric to calmly stroke her head. "I fear for our safety, that's all."

"I know," Cedric told Miranda. "But it was a risk worth taking. I may be quite the bloodthirsty man when fighting an opponent, but I'm not going to kill a bunch of defenseless children just because a mad man-child tells me to do so; much less if they are Shapeshifters."

"Are you sure we did good sending them to Cavigor?" the girl continued to inquire.

"Cavigor may be a hellhole holding imprisoned the worst of Meridian's worst… but as it goes for Shapeshifters, you can consider it a safe haven;" Cedric explained as he continued to try to calm Miranda down. "The children will be safer there…"

"With Sidriss and Calisto."

The Infinite City; meanwhile

"Alright, Blunk;" Caleb told the Passling, "calm down and repeat it from the beginning."

In one of the halls of the Infinite City, Caleb (with Aldarn and Drake by his side) stood in front of Blunk. It had been a peaceful day for the rebels (as peaceful as it could be for a rebel army preparing itself for the final stages of a civil war, anyway) until the Passling had burst into the Rebellion's headquarters, yelling about 'Big News!' he needed to tell them about. It had taken Caleb several minutes to calm him, and another few to take him to one of the less crowded sections of the rebel base, where they could talk in private.

"Well, Blunk was minding his own business in the Capital, trying to trade with some merchants;" Blunk said, far calmer than before. "One merchant wanted Blunk to trade one of the light sticks Blunk got from Earth just for three chickens, and Blunk said 'That's not fair trading!' and the merchant said 'It's the best tradin' yer gonna get here'. So Blunk took…"

"Blunk, please;" Caleb told the green dwarf; "get to the point."

"Uh, sorry;" the Passling apologized. "So Blunk was trading, and then the Capital went mad! Everyone running, Blunk running too! Shapeshifters and Lurdens fighting the Guard! Everyone screaming!"

"Wait, what?" Caleb asked, finding hard to believe what the Passling had just told him. "The Lurdens rebelled?"

"No, no;" Blunk cleared out. "Days later, Blunk sneaked into the castle's kitchens to trade with the servants and find information. Blunk great spy! Blunk found out that it had been bad wizard behind the attack! Now bad wizard and Tracker gone, and the Prince's lost many Lurdens!"

"Bad wizard?" Caleb asked. "Are you talking about Daolon Wong?"

"He must have made his move against Phobos, just like the Mage's spy said he would;" Drake said. Not that I didn't know that already, Cyrus Ludmoore thought. Shame that I have to keep the fact that Daolon Wong won't be a problem again to myself, but that's something none of you can know yet.

"What about the Princess?" Caleb asked. "How was Wong able to make that attack if she was in the palace?"

"No, Princess not in castle;" Blunk informed. "Princess gone to Lannion, Blunk thinks."

"That means that Phobos has lost very strong allies," Aldarn commented. "His court is weakened. We should speed up our plans for the attack!"

"But Wong and the Tracker are still out there, and without Phobos' leash on them, more dangerous than ever;" Caleb told his friend. And if Tracker really is the Knight Didier and the legends speak any truth, he could become a huge problem in the near future…

"And what do you suggest we do?" Aldarn asked of his leader. His voice hadn't been the one of an angry person, but yes perhaps a bit too harsh, something that hadn't gone unnoticed to both Drake and Caleb, but that neither of them gave too much thought to.

"Continue with the plan in the same way we have done until now," Caleb answered. "But we need to discuss it with the rest of the Small Council. I'll go and find the Mage and Baroness Miriam; you two go and find Sephiria and Vathek. Blunk," the rebel leader spoke to the Passling; "find a Portal and…"

"Go to Earth and tell this to nice girls?" Blunk asked, getting an approving nod from Caleb and already running away. Caleb departed too, in search for the Mage. As for Aldarn and Drake, they did so in his opposite direction.

"Are you feeling alright?" Drake asked of Aldarn as they walked. "You look troubled."

"I…" Aldarn said, looking at his walking feet and then up. "I'm alright, Drake. Do you prefer to bring Sephiria or Vathek?" he asked, changing the theme of the conversation.

"I think we both should search for Sephiria," Drake told him. "Vathek left this morning. He said he had some things to attend to."

"I hope it's something important," Aldarn said, again in the harsher voice, as they both continued to walk.

Oh Aldarn, Cyrus thought. If only you knew…

A tavern in a meridianite village

Vathek had always found rather curious how every village of Meridian always had at least one tavern, and how if it hadn't then it wouldn't be considered a proper village at all. He supposed it made sense, though, as he wouldn't want to live and work day by day without a place where he could stay warm and drink some ale or wine while laughing and singing with his friends. The consolation for a life of hardship as a peasant, that's what some called these places.

The one the bulky blue Galhot found himself into this time was a pretty big one, especially considering he was in a village and not in any of the great cities. The fact that it was three stories tall lead him to believe it was an inn on top of being a tavern. The air carried a variety of odors, mainly to alcohol, sweat, strong cheese and fish. Once his nose had accustomed to this place, Vathek focused into taking a good look around him.

Groups of women and men were sitting around tables, dirty pitchers of ale or dirty glasses of wine in their hands. They were talking, and sometimes one of them broke into song, the others joining shortly after, until the song finished and they went back to drink.

Leaning against the bar were the lonely ones, their only company their pitchers and the pieces of cut bread over the bar, each of them with a little dried fish and a piece of cheese over them. Ah, so that was from where the smell was coming from! Vathek wondered for a second if that food was free to take or you would have to pay for it.

In one corner, he spotted a pretty young man, no older than seventeen if Vathek's eyes didn't betray him, dressed in little clothing and standing next to a woman on her thirties that, judging by her clothes, chubbiness and the fact that her glass was cleaner than the rest's, was probably a merchant. Vathek saw how the woman slipped some silvery coins into the young man's hand, (sporting a lecherous smile that showed a set of ugly teeth as she did so) and shortly after they headed up the stairs and into the second or maybe third floor. Well, at least someone was having a good time today. The boy-whore, on the other hand… probably not so much.

And last but not least, were the three individuals in charge of the tavern. One was a human woman in her mid-twenties, standing behind the bar and filling the pitchers with the ale and the glasses with the wine. The second was a nine year old half-breed girl with green skin and short hair, carrying a large tray over her head in which she brought the drinks and food to the tables and the customers sitting at them. The third was a Galhot man in his late twenties, a beard that covered his jaw and with green skin, albeit a darker shade than his daughter's, who came from a door behind the bar from time to time, bringing more pieces of cut bread with dried fish and cheese over them in order to lay them down over the bar. He then proceeded to deliver a kiss to the human woman's cheek and head back into what Vathek supposed was the kitchen.

The blue Galhot took seat in a table that had yet to be occupied, taking off the cape and hood he had been wearing until now. As he sat down, he noticed someone pulling at his jacket, and saw the half-breed girl at his side. While at first he thought she was going to ask for his order, Vathek only needed a look and a gesture not from the girl, but from her mother, to instead rise up again and follow the little girl into a door at the tavern's far left, one that the girl proceeded to open with a key than hanged from her neck thanks to a little chain.

Vathek entered a new room, weakly illuminated by a few candles on the walls and over a desk that was ahead. Even though his eyes had yet to accustom to the lesser amount of light, he could clearly see someone sitting at the desk. The half-breed girl ran towards it, taking something in her hands. As she ran back to the door and passed by Vathek's side, the bulky man saw how she was carrying a bunch of golden coins in her hands. Vathek dedicated one last look at her as the door closed, then sighed.

"Some people say that the Prince attacked your home," Vathek said as he turned around; "and that you were killed there."

"And you believed them?" came the cold reply, from the shadows.

"No," Vathek answered. "I have lived long enough to know that people like you always tend to survive, no matter the odds. I got your message and here I am, as you requested. I suppose it's time for me to pay for the information concerning Carhaiz that you gave me, isn't it?"

Vathek saw movement behind the desk, his interlocutor rising and walking into the light. He hadn't changed much, still the same hair, same strange eyes, and same face. His clothing differed from the one he had worn before, and it could have easily passed for the one of a peasant if it wasn't so impeccably clean. The biggest difference, however, was the right hand. What had once been a limb as normal as any other, was now made of wood and had several cracks over it, in which Vathek could see some kind of swirling purple and dark blue energy. Each of the wooden fingers moved from time to time, the man flexing his wooden hand as if not fully accustomed to the fact that it could move. Vathek found it sinister.

"Indeed, Vathek;" Charles Ludmoore told the blue Galhot in his usual cold voice. "But don't worry. I assure you that paying me this time will only result in our mutual benefit."

Across the Veil; Heatherfield' streets, afternoon

"Was Mr. Collins too hard on you?" Matt Olsen asked of Will Vandom as they both headed back to their homes from Sheffield. The teenage guitarist seemed to be in quite a good mood, which wasn't something one could say about his girlfriend.

"Not much," the redhead told her boyfriend. "It was your typical 'be responsible' teacher talk." Will sighed. "I'm more worried about the moment my mom finds out."

"Why would she find out?" Matt wondered.

"Because Mr. Collins and she are dating, ugh;" Will answered, not pleased by bringing that fact up.

"Wait, what? Really?" a surprised Matt continued to ask as they turned around a corner in order to take a shortcut into the redhead's home's direction.

"Yeah, but good luck making her calling it serious dating;" Will stated. "Every time I bring it up she just evades the subject."

"Are you… mad at her for it?"Matt inquired yet again. "For dating one of our teachers, I mean."

"It isn't because he's a teacher, Matt;" Will told the teen. "It's… look, when my mom and dad got separated, and then my dad just… disappeared and went god-knows-where, it was kind of… hard for me. But then my mom and I moved here, and then she started to make goo-goo eyes at Mr. Collins;" she said, taking a moment to notice how her referring to her mother and Mr. Collin's flirting as 'making goo-goo eyes' had made Matt to chuckle; "and, I don't know. It just makes things awkward." Will yawned and rubbed the back of her head afterwards. "And I'm just so tired. No surprise I fell asleep in class."

"Does that have to do with the whole Guardian stuff?" Matt asked, whispering the last two words. Will glanced away from him for a moment. "Hey, you know you can tell me."

"I know… We were investigating the ruins of Villa Ludmoore last night, that's all;" Will told him. "It took us… longer than expected, and just for nothing."

"Oh yeah, that Ludmoore guy you told Alchemy and me about;" Matt said as they started to cross an alley. "They've been talking a lot about him on TV lately. Which I guess is the normal thing that happens when your house explodes."

"We think that some of Phobos' forces attacked him, and we've got some evidence that Elyon was there, but… wait a second;" Will said as her telephone started to rang. "Yeah? Hay Lin?" Will asked, listening to the words that the Chinese girl was saying at the other end of the line, which Matt of course couldn't hear.

However, the boy deduced it had to be something important, judging by how Will's expression grew more and more serious as she continued to listed to whatever Hay Lin was telling her, any trace of tiredness over her face disappearing in turn.

"Okay, okay, I'll be there;" Will told her friend. As she looked at Matt at her side, she added; "and I'm going to bring Matt. Also, tell Cornelia to take Alchemy to the Silver Dragon too. I think I've got an idea."

The Silver Dragon's basement; around an hour afterwards

The first thought that passed over Matt's head when he and Will reached the Silver Dragon and descended into its basement was that the place was too crowded. Not only were all the seven girls there, Jade's family (which now apparently included that large man called Tohru and that woman called Viper) was there too, and so was Hay Lin's grandmother, currently sitting in the couch alongside the other elder. And then there were the two newcomers, one a boy that looked around a year older than Matt (but that was considerably more ripped than Matt was) and the other a green-skinned, smelly and bald... creature, no bigger than a child. Oh yeah, Will had told him about these two too! Which were their names?

It was the former who first looked at him when he and Will entered into the basement, his green eyes making Matt feel somehow naked, as if the brown-haired teen was scanning him with his sight. 'Who is this? Why is he here? What does he want? How much does he know?' Those were the questions he was probably asking himself. The whole thing made Matt feel a bit uncomfortable so, once he and Will had reached the end of the basement's staircase, he decided to ease the tension by approaching the other teen and offering a friendly hand.

"Hi," Matt began politely. "You're Caleb, right?"

The other teenage boy looked weirdly at Will, who proceeded to look weirdly at him too, alongside a little nod. 'Does he know?' Caleb was probably asking with that look. 'He knows everything,' Will was telling him with hers.

"Yes," Caleb answered, shaking Matt's hand. "And you are?"

"Matt Olsen," the guitarist answered as his handshake with the meridianite teen ended. "Will's boyfriend."

Caleb stared at Matt in silence for several seconds then. Afterwards, his lips formed a sincere and happy smile. "A pleasure to meet you."

"Thanks," Matt told the green-eyed rebel leader. Then he shifted his attention to the green, smelly dwarf at Caleb's side. "And you must be Blunk! The... goblin?"

"Passling!" Blunk shouted. "Blunk a Passling, not goblin!"

"Okay, okay;" Will said then, clapping. "Everyone knows each other?" the redhead asked, eyeing Alchemy.

The ginger girl nodded in affirmation. "Y-Yeah," she answered, Cornelia already having made sure to introduce her to Caleb beforehand.

"Great," Will said. "Let's get down to business."

"And can we do it quickly?" Hay Lin said nervously, biting the nail of one of her thumbs. "I doubt my parents are going to spend all the afternoon outside..."

"I want you to tell us, detail by detail," the redhead continued, looking at Caleb, "what's been going on Meridian the last days."

And so he did, retelling to them what he had been previously told. Wong's short-lived coup, his and Tracker's disappearance, and how the Princess was currently staying at Lannion.

"Isn't Lannion Count Cornelius' city?" Taranee asked after the explanation ended.

"Exactly," Will told the Fire Guardian. "Which means Elyon's in our territory now. It's a perfect opportunity to make her change sides."

"Okay... question;" Irma intervened. "How do we do that?"

Instead of answering the brunette with words, Will just gazed at Alchemy

"Oh, I get it!" Jade declared. "We're gonna follow Taranee's idea."

"My idea?" the black girl asked in turn.

"Yeah, remember when you told us that it wouldn't be a bad idea to get Alchemy to talk with Elyon?" Jade reminded her.

"And that's exactly what we're going to do here," Will continued. "We're going to sneak Alchemy into Lannion, using a small team."

"Wouldn't that be dangerous?" Jackie asked of the Keeper of the Heart. "Alchemy doesn't have any powers, or any kind of martial arts training."

"And that's the reason you're going to be on said team, Jackie;" Will told the Chinese man. "You and Viper, for obvious reasons. Also, I need someone to make a call to Mrs. Rudolph and see if we can bring her too. Considered she's a witness of Phobos' coup thirteen years ago, I think she can have a key role making Elyon to change sides. We only need to create some Astral Drops like last time and…"

"Hey, Will?" Alchemy interrupted her. "I don't think I exactly know what an Astral Drop is… but I'm pretty sure neither Matt nor I can use them. Conjure them?"

Will stopped her speech midsentence upon hearing those words. Crap. Crap, crap, crap, crap! That was something she hadn't took into account! How was she going to justify to Matt and Alchemy's families that they had disappeared for several days?!

Seeing the redhead's preoccupation, Yan Lin was quick to call all the attendants' attention towards her. "Don't worry, kiddo;" the old Chinese lady said with her usual gentle smile. She then pointed towards Uncle. "Cousin here and I will get that covered."

"How?" Uncle asked, both out of curiosity and out of concern. He hadn't liked one bit how mischievous his relative's voice had sounded.

"Oh, let that tiny detail to me;" Yan Lin answered. "I may be old, but I still got a few tricks."

"So, we're going to this Meridian?" Matt, enthusiasm growing, asked; unable to avoid smiling like a kid.

"You keep insisting and insisting, so…" Will told him, "yes, I'll bring you. But just this time."

"Awesome!" Matt cheered, making Will to blush a bit.

"Before we get farther with the planning and celebrations," Caleb interrupted them, "there is something else I need to tell you."

"What?" the Keeper of the Heart inquired.

"Before Blunk was able to locate a Portal, Vathek, who had been out for most of the morning, came back to the Infinite City;" Caleb started to explain; "and he brought very interesting news."

Across the Veil, Infinite City, night

It had taken the group some time to go back to the Portal Blunk and Caleb had used to cross the Veil to Earth. Anyway, after a flash of pink that had transformed Will, Irma, Taranee, Cornelia and Hay Lin into their Guardian forms, all of them barring Uncle Chan and Yan Lin and already having been joined by Mrs. Rudolph had crossed to Meridian. And the flash then had been blue, and then Matt and Alchemy had seen how the buildings and streetlights that composed Heatherfield's landscape disappear and leave way for a field full of strange, yellowish flowers near a river. That alone was enough to indicate to the pair of teens that this wasn't their world anymore. After walking (or in the Guardians' case flying) the field of flowers became a dusty quarry made out of purple stone, in which the group spotted a cave in which they proceeded to enter. There, Caleb started to touch one of the cave's walls until he made something to make a 'click' sound, and a part of the cave's wall proceeded to slide open, revealing a secret door. Then everything else was a matter of walking some more, until they entered into the Infinite City and the Rebellion's headquarters inside of it. Alchemy Ethel remained relatively calm through the whole ordeal, considering these were (literally) her first steps into a new world. Matt Olsen, on the other hand, (and though he knew the situation he found himself in was of the utmost seriousness) couldn't hide a grin of excitement. The only other person in their group whose mood was comparable to the teenager's was, ironically, Mrs. Rudolph's.

"The legendary Infinite City," their Math teacher, who had turned out to be a meridianite to Matt and Alchemy's (decreasing) surprise, said in awe. "I thought it was just a myth…" she continued as she distanced herself a bit from the group in order to touch one of the many pillars that were in the hall they were currently in; "but it seems I have been proved wrong. If these walls could talk, the stories they would tell…"

"I suppose it's pretty neat," Viper said to nobody in particular; "if you like spooky old places."

"Hey, do you want Blunk, Jackie and Tohru to give you a tour around the rebel HQ?" Will, currently at Matt's side, asked; wings flapping a couple of times in order to dispel a bit of dust in the air. "Because I think we'll be pretty busy, and I doubt we can bring you all into the meeting room just like that."

"Oh, sure!" Matt, still amazed that he was doing something that he had only thought possible in comic books or fantasy and sci-fi novels, answered. "Good luck," he added, planting a kiss on the redhead's cheek, making her to blush again.

"Thanks," the Keeper of the Heart said as she made a signal to the Passling, the sumo and the archeologist. They stopped and approached her, Will telling them her idea. "Keep an eye on Matt for me," she added in a whisper that only Jackie heared.

"Now follow Blunk!" the Passling said with enthusiasm, throwing his fist up in the air and taking the lead. "Blunk knows all the best places around here!"

And a few minutes later, Jackie, Tohru, Viper, Matt, Mrs. Rudolph and Alchemy had turned around a corner and disappeared, leaving the Guardians, Jade and Caleb alone. The group remained in silence for a while, until Taranee broke it.

"So what's the point of all this?" the Fire Guardian asked of her leader and friend.

"Of what?" Will asked back.

"Of bringing Matt here," Taranee explained. "I get why we brought Alchemy, but Matt..."

"Hey, Will wanted to let her boyfriend enjoy himself," Irma broke into the conversation. "No problem unless he gets out of the Infinite City and gets hurt, right?"

Will didn't answer. Instead, it was Jade who talked. "You brought him here so he could see how the Rebellion works, right? For better... or worse."

Hay Lin gasped. "The people that Sephiria is treating..."

"Wait, you brought your boyfriend here so he could see the wounded and get scared or something?" Cornelia asked. "And they say I'm the mean one."

"Okay, okay, I get it;" Will interrupted them. "I'm not going to win any prize. But..." Will stopped, sighed and rubbed her temples before starting to walk again. "But you all know what this war's done to us, to all of us." Her eyes went from Caleb to Jade, then to Cornelia and then back to Caleb. "I don't want that happening to Matt. But he keeps insisting into getting involved. So I ran with it. If the wounded don't scare him out of it, then at least he gets to be part of this, and maybe seeing all those people either discourages him or makes him to think he should be careful around here."

"If you are done with the talking," Caleb told them, hand gripping the hilt of the Sword of Thanatos. "We have things to do."

The girls stopped and looked ahead, seeing that they had arrived at the entrance of the room where the Rebellion's Small Council held its meetings. Without further delay, they entered.

Across the Veil; Matt Olsen's home

"Are you sure you don't want more? It's your favorite!"

Paula Olsen was a thin woman in her thirties, with slightly tanned skin and short hair that matched his son's in color. Her face was the one you could expect from a woman her age, with a lovely nose and dark blue eyes. As for her husband, Mark Olsen was a thin man of similar age to his wife, and looking at him you could see the similarities between him and his own father, Herbert. In fact, some had said more than once that he looked exactly at his father had done in his youth. Dark brown hair adorned his head and there were tiny, round glasses in front of his eyes. It was clear that their son took more after his mother just with a look. Speaking of said son, he was just there right now, sitting at the table and having dinner with his parents. At least, that's what they thought.

"No, Unc- I don't want any more, thank you mother;" 'Matt' told her, pushing the plate in front of him away in order to reinforce his negative. Albeit none of the adults were able to focus on it, the 'teenager' was wearing a ring in his left hand.

Mother? Paula thought, finding incredibly strange that her son had referred to her using that term. "Are you not feeling alright?"

"No, I'm fine, it's just…" 'Matt' told the woman, but then his stomach growled in a strange way, and the 'teenager' had to quickly change his argument. "I… I'm not feeling exactly alright. Can I go to my bedroom?"

"Sure," the woman told him. "Just let me know if you're feeling worse or not."

"Thank you," 'Matt' told the married couple. "If you will excuse me…" he said, getting up from the chair and heading towards his room.

"Did you just see that?" Paula asked her husband. "Since when is our kid so… formal?"

"No idea," Mark told his wife. "Well, you know how kids his age are. One day they act like punks and the other they're saints. That or maybe he's really sick."

"I'll call the doctor, see if he's got some time for a quick meeting on Monday;" Paula said, getting up too. "Just in case."

Unknown to his 'parents' 'Matt' had entered his room and locked the door. There, he quickly removed the ring from his finger. A few seconds passed and then a circle of light traversed his body from feet to the head, revealing old Uncle Chan underneath the recently dispelled glamour.

Stomach growling one more time (the elder clutching it as if that would calm it), Uncle took his mobile phone out of his pocket and dialed a number, something that he found quite difficult to do due to the pain of his stomach. After a couple of seconds, the voice of Alchemy Ethel answered him.

"Hello?"

"Cousin," the Chan elder told to the phone. "You owe Uncle so, so much for this!"

"Are you not wearing your glamour?" Alchemy Ethel's voice, or more accurately, the voice of Yan Lin-posing-as-Alchemy, came again. "Do you have any idea how much effort I had to put into enchanting that ring?"

"These people gave Uncle meat with cheese for dinner!" Uncle protested. "Uncle can't eat cheese! Veeeery bad for his digestion, it gives him maaaaaany bowel problems! One more thing!" he added, taking a good look at Matt's room, especially at the disorganized comic books in the shelves and the clothes partially sticking out of the teen's drawers. "This young man is almost as disorganized as niece! How do you expect Uncle to sleep here?! One more thing! This is a waste of time! Uncle should be preparing spells in order to fight Daolon Wong when Dark Wizard inevitably returns! One more…!"

"Matt?" Mark Olsen's voice suddenly came from the other side of the door. "Are you alright? I heard weird noises, and... Why do you have your door locked?"

Uncle put the ring back on as fast as he could, the glamour giving him the appearance and voice of Matt Olsen once again. He hanged the phone, rushed to the entrance of the bedroom that belonged to the teenager he was impersonating and unlocked it, opening the door just enough so his face could be seen from outside.

"Yes, father;" 'Matt' told him. "I'm alright. I think I just need some sleep."

Father?! Mark thought now with alarm. As the door closed again, he ran searching for his wife. There really was something very weird going on with this kid!

As for the disguised Uncle, he approached Matt's bed and sat on it. There, he took a hand to his chest and felt the frantic beating of his heart. Then his stomach growled again, foreshadowing the first of many visits to the bathroom to come.

Oh, this was going to be such a long night...

Across the Veil, Infinite City

While Uncle was impersonating him, Matt Olsen was enjoying the little tour around the Rebellion's current base of operations that Blunk the Passling was giving him, Alchemy Mrs. Rudolph and Viper. The Passling on the lead and the three humans and the glamoured Galhot behind him, Tohru and Jackie were the ones closing the group, walking a couple of steps behind them all. Around them, rebels dedicated themselves to different tasks, and albeit the group clearly drawing attention just by the way they were dressed, no rebel had bothered them.

"Okay, let me get this straight;" Alchemy said. "This place, this Infinite City's built on Meridian's underground. As in… the entire planet's underground?"

"Yes!" Blunk answered, pleased that he had the opportunity to show off his knowledge to foreigners. "And rebels travel Meridian through Infinite City's tunnels! It's faster and safer than doing it outside!"

"Yeah, I get that, but how exactly does it work?" Alchemy continued to ask of the green dwarf. "How do you build an entire, giant city under the surface of a planet? Why does it take less time to travel to the same point through here than on the surface?"

"Uh… Blunk doesn't know that;" the Passling admitted.

"It's magic, kid;" Viper told the ginger teenage girl. "It's always magic with these things. I have seen enough weird things to know that."

"But..." Alchemy began.

"Come on Alchemy, you saw one of your best friends flying and fighting shadow monsters just a few nights ago," Matt pointed out. "I think magic's as good an explanation as any."

"Considering how immensely powerful Heart-wielders can be," Tohru spoke, "there is a huge possibility the Infinite City was created by an Escanor Queen."

"I'm not so sure, Tohru;" Jackie entered the conversation. "These arches and pillars seem to have been crafted by hand. See?" the archeologist pointed to one of the columns near the walls, one which was highly decorated with strange runes. "I doubt those engravings were made by magic and not by artisans."

"Ah..." Tohru muttered as he pondered this. "Perhaps only the basic structure of the city was made by magic and the rest was done manually?"

"Maybe," Jackie said. "Frankly, I doubt we will ever know. But I would like to inspect this city when the war is over, its architecture is fascinating."

"How come?" Tohru asked, genuinely interested.

"Well, the halls seem to have been built following something resembling a mix of ancient Greek and ancient Egyptian architecture, but the arches and pillars are far more modern, and with modern I mean around the tenth century. They also seem to be stylized in a more European fashion..."

As the archeologist and the Chi Wizard in training continued their talk, Viper put an arm around Alchemy's shoulders.

"And this, kid;" the ex-thief told the teen; "is why we just go with 'magic' as an explanation."

Alchemy giggled at that. Matt, in turn, laughed. As for Jackie and Tohru, they were too focused in their conversation to pay attention to the fact that there had been a joke at their expense. And Blunk continued to lead happily... until he stopped in his tracks, the hall they were currently in ending in the entrance of a chamber.

"Uh... Blunk thinks we should turn around now," the Passling said.

"Why?" Matt asked, walking ahead and into the chamber. "What's supposed to be in... here. Oh, God."

As they followed into Matt's steps, Alchemy stifled a gasp by placing her hands over her mouth and Viper grew stiff. Jackie and Tohru's chat ended rather abruptly when it hit them.

The smell.

The strong smell that made their noses ache and their vision to be clouded momentarily by tears. The smell of sweat, ointments, old and dirtied bandages, wounds that had yet to heal completely; all mixed together and making the chamber reek.

And then there was the cause of the smell: dozens, perhaps more than a hundred people, all lying on the ground and all of them badly injured. Some were bandaged from head to toe; others were missing at least one limb.

The only people moving around were men and women of varying ages in weird clothing, either carrying bandages or small yet heavy cauldrons full of a thick, greenish and burbling paste. They went from one person to another, treating them as best as they could.

"W-What's this place?" a shocked Alchemy asked. "Who are these people?"

"The Rebellion's wounded," Tohru said grimly. "The ones with the worst injuries, it seems."

"It's... It's horrible," Alchemy said.

"It's war," Tohru stated. "And this is the price for fighting against Phobos' tyranny." The sumo added somberly. "We shouldn't be here, let's… Matt?"

Ignoring the sumo's counsel, or perhaps not even hearing it, the teenager had quickly advanced towards one of the healers that belonged to the Faithful and was helping him to carry one of the small cauldrons.

"What is he doing?" the sumo asked.

"Lending a hand, that's what the kid is doing;" Viper told him. "And sincerely, we could do the same. It's not as if we have anything better to do now."

"Blunk doesn't know if he can help," the Passling told his companions. "Can Blunk help?"

"I don't know if we can do anything," Tohru told the Passling.

"Actually, we can;" Jackie told his friend, and then searched in his pants' pockets until he extracted the Horse Talisman from his rick pocket. "I brought it in case an emergency occurs. I doubt we can re-grow limbs with it," he said as he handed the octagonal amulet to Tohru; "but I think it should be enough to heal many of them."

The Small Council's room

Meanwhile in the room where its meetings were held, all members of the Rebellion's Small Council had been finally gathered. Caleb, Aldarn, Drake, Sephiria, Vathek, the 'Mage' and the Baroness of Fallbottom were sitting at the table, alongside Jade and Will. Behind the Chan girl stood Gareth, and behind Will her four Guardian companions did the same. Vathek was the one currently talking, informing them about what had happened that day's morning, about how Ludmoore had contacted him (using one of the rebels that were in his pocket and that Vathek had already told Caleb about), and about how he had met with him at a tavern on a village not too far away.

"And you agreed to that meeting?" Drake asked. "It could have been a trap."

Vathek shook his head. "It couldn't be. I still owed Ludmoore a favor in exchange of the information he gave me concerning Carhaiz," the blue Galhot explained, noticing how Caleb stiffened at the mention of Carhaiz; "and I knew Ludmoore wouldn't risk losing that favor. Also, I wanted to confirm if the rumors about the Prince's forces attacking his home were true or not."

"We could've confirmed that," Will told the Galhot. "Ludmoore's manor on Earth has been reduced to dust, and we already suspected that it had something to do with Phobos. It's good to know that Ludmoore is still out there, even if it's just for the confirmation that he's still playing a role in this war."

"So, what did he want from you?" Jade asked now. "'Cause I doubt he just wanted to have a drink."

Vathek breathed deeply. He had told Caleb that he would like to speak about this once everyone was present. Well, now everyone was here, so he couldn't keep avoiding the subject. "He wishes to join the Rebellion."

The phrase lingered in the air for several seconds. Nobody said a word, nobody made a movement. Even Drake, who was in the middle of serving himself a glass of wine, froze in his tracks, laying down the pitcher full of wine that always accompanied them in their meetings. All the eyes in the room were fixed on Vathek now; giving the bulky blue Galhot the impression that they were expecting for him to tell them that they had misheard his words. He didn't do that.

"He wishes to join us?" the 'Mage' spoke at last, breaking the silence. Behind the glamour that disguised her as the stoic ancient woman, Nerissa Crossnic didn't know what to make out of this. On one hand, she still hated surprises, much more when those surprises had something to do with factors as unpredictable as Charles Ludmoore. On the other hand, however, she still prided herself in being an adaptive woman, and if someone with Ludmoore's resources wished to join her army… "Why does he wish to do that?"

"He told me that, due to Phobos attacking his home, there is no reason for him to continue being neutral anymore, great Mage;" Vathek explained. "He also told me that if we let him join us, he will put all of his resources at our service. He said he would wait for us in one of the empty chambers and leave us to discuss in peace before meeting with him."

"Are we sure we can trust his words?" Baroness Miriam asked. "He is a Ludmoore. His family is not known for its sense of loyalty. His ancestor's actions are proof of that."

You aren't the most appropriate one to be saying that, noblewoman; Aldarn thought hatefully. Wait a second, one of the empty chambers?! "You brought him here?! You showed him a pathway to the Infinite City?!"

"Actually," Vathek began; "he already knew how to access it. I suppose he also learned that from one of his spies."

"So he's here?" Irma asked. "Bold move. Between all the rebels and us here we could wipe the floor with him."

"I doubt he's come here to fight, Irma;" Will told the Water Guardian. "I think he believes he can pull this off."

In her head, Will was pondering all the reasons Ludmoore could have for doing what he was doing and being where he was. Her mind found the task a bit harder than she had first imagined, as her thought process was interrupted every handful of seconds by questions about how Matt was doing around a base full of rebels, and how this new development with Ludmoore could affect her little ploy concerning Alchemy and Elyon. What did she knew about Ludmoore? Greedy guy, weird eyes, pretty face, the same sense of humor of a rock. Competent administrator and businessman. His goal? From what she had seen, make as much profit as he could out of any situation he found himself in. Right now the best way to make the most profit was to stick with the Rebellion. And if the Rebellion were to win the war, the more profit he could make. Plus, she was pretty sure he would want revenge after Phobos had blown up to his home and belongings. Could she... could she turn this on their favor?

"So what do we do?" Cornelia asked aloud, taking Will out of her mind.

"I don't think we can decide that yet;" Caleb said, rising from his seat and adjusting the Sword of the Berserker that hanged from his belt. "It's better if we hear what he has to offer and what he truly demands first." The scarred rebel leader directed a look towards Vathek. "Bring us where he is, Vathek."

Nodding, the blue Galhot rose up and started to walk out of the room. The girls, Gareth, Caleb, Drake, the Baroness and the 'Mage' followed him. Aldarn was the one to leave last, trailing behind the rest of the group.

In the same way Will had done moments before, Aldarn was trying to think about how he could turn the current situation into his favor. He had his weapons ready, both the demon's mask and the names of those who were willing to back him up. But even if the son of the blacksmith was determined to set the Rebellion back in the right path (and to pay the price in order to do so), he knew he couldn't just do it. He needed a reason, a spark to ignite the fire.

And Ludmoore could be that spark, Aldarn thought as he walked. He didn't have much against the King Smuggler aside from the usual problems everyone had with him. In fact, he wasn't against the idea of him joining their cause, even if it was for selfish reasons. The enemy of the Rebellion's Enemy was welcomed to become their ally. Even if it resulted in an ally motivated by greed? Yes, of course! And at least... at least Ludmoore wasn't a nobleman, a servant of the tyrant. He had never aided Phobos more than he had aided the rebels. But Aldarn could see how the idea of Ludmoore joining them could create tensions within the Small Council.

If he was able to play his cards right... this could be his moment!

Minutes later, another chamber in the Infinite City

Ever since she had awakened as a Ben-Shui reincarnation and acquired the ability to use Chi Magic, Jade had been waiting for the moment in which she would get her own willies. Uncle had them and Tohru had developed them when confronted by Oni, so she had thought that it was only natural for her to get them sooner or later, especially considering that her abilities with Chi Magic weren't learned but actually an inherent part of her. However, she hadn't been able to feel anything, neither with her encounters with Daolon Wong nor when she had faced people wearing Oni Masks, albeit she had been able to feel in how much of a bad shape Hak Foo's chi had been left after being stripped the one containing Ikki. She had stopped caring about it after a while; it wasn't as if getting her own willies was the most important thing in the near future. However, at that moment, when she entered into the room in the Infinite City where Vathek had said Ludmoore would be waiting for them, Jade Chan had the willies.

And it didn't go as if she had thought it would. Both Uncle and Tohru had, after she had asked them to do so, defined the willies to her once. The old Chi Wizard and his apprentice had described them as a feeling similar to a shiver that went up your spine, except several times stronger. What Jade felt upon entering that room wasn't a shiver, but she didn't find it any better. Instead of something resembling shivering, Jade was assaulted by a… slimy feeling. It was a feeling that she quickly associated with Dark Chi, but there was something strange about it. It felt as if the sensation was trying to lure her into a sense of security before attacking, like the coils of a snake or the tentacles or an octopus slowly and softly wrapping themselves around her before they tightened up and choked her. And she identified the source of the sensation instantly. After all, he was just there, sitting with his legs crossed in an old and dusty wooden chair in the middle of the room, the only thing keeping him company a single suitcase.

Charles Ludmoore didn't move a single muscle when he saw the large group of people entering into the room. Eyes looking at him with suspicion, curiosity, anger and despise; the man met those gazes with a cold stare, his face betraying no emotion. If he was intimidated by the large group of people around him, he didn't show it. As he uncrossed his legs and stood up, however, he found how all the eyes stopped staring at him with a varied range of emotions and focused into looking at his wooden, prosthetic yet completely functional hand.

"Okay, gonna be the first one to ask this, since it's probably the thing everybody's wanting to ask right now;" Irma said, pointing to the man's wooden limb. "What the heck happened to your hand?"

"This?" Ludmoore asked in his usual cold and emotionless voice. "This is the price I had to pay in order to escape from the Princess of Meridian when she and her brother's forces attacked my home unprovoked." As he pronounced those words, he raised his wooden hand and rolled up his sleeve, showing the prosthetic in its entirety. The wood was unnaturally fused with the flesh at the middle of his forearm, resulting into an image that wasn't very kind to the eye. "I barely escaped alive, and as you can see I lost my hand in the process. Fortunately, magic was able to provide me with an," Ludmoore moved his wooden fingers one by one as he said that, clenching his fist afterwards; "acceptable replacement."

"That's just super creepy…" Hay Lin whispered.

"For not saying gross," Cornelia added as she evaded eye contact with the businessman's arm.

It's Chi Magic, that's what it is; Jade thought, eyes focused into the cracks that were in the wooden arm, in which she could see purple energy slowly being overtaken by dark blue one. How the heck had Ludmoore gotten his hands, eh… hand, into Chi Magic? How was he able to use it? She knew Ludmoore was a sorcerer, but Uncle and Yan Lin had told them all that Chi and Raw Magic were incompatible! She decided that was something she shouldn't speak about in front of Ludmoore, instead keeping his thoughts for herself.

"But I don't wish to bore you all with the details," Ludmoore said coldly, rolling down his sleeve (something everyone present was thankful for) and lowering his wooden hand. "I believe we have some important business to talk about."

"Yeah, no;" Will said suddenly, giving a couple of steps forward and positioning herself in front of Ludmoore. As she did so, she missed the angry glare that Aldarn shot at her. "We aren't falling for that. You ARE going to tell us with every single boring detail everything that happened in that manor before it exploded, you ARE going to tell us everything you've been up to involving this war, and you ARE going to tell us what you have to offer us. Then, we will CONSIDER letting you join the Rebellion."

"The Keeper of the Heart speaks wisely," the 'Mage' joined in. The ball is now in your court, Ludmoore; Nerissa thought. I would hate to kill such a valuable tool as you can be, but if you leave me with no other option, I will do it.

Ludmoore continued to look at Will with a cold and stoic expression. Behind his mask of cold demeanor, the eldest Ludmoore brother was euphoric. Yes, I supposed you wouldn't let me get to the point so easily... but a Ludmoore doesn't back down from challenges! Charles thought energetically. Alright, girl! Let's have it your way! "Very well," he said plain and coldly.

And so, Ludmoore told them everything... excluding some key details here and there, such as the fact that he was related to Cedric and Cyrus, or the fact that Cyrus was, well, Cyrus. Of course, his involvement in Wong's downfall was also excluded from his explanation, as was the fact that he had stolen his powers for himself. By the end of it, he had told them exactly what they were expecting to hear from the kind of man they thought he was.

"You sent some weird gargoyles after Elyon?!" Cornelia asked, enraged. She stomped her foot on the ground as she stepped forward, cracking the stone under it. "Just because Cedric and Phobos paid you for it?!"

"Yes," Ludmoore answered plain and coldly. "But for the record, I ignored that she was the Princess."

"You greedy mother-!" the Earth Guardian began, the cracks in the ground widening.

"Cornelia, calm down;" Taranee said, putting a hand over the blonde's shoulder. The last thing they needed right now was an earthquake.

As for Will, she continued to stare at Ludmoore. "And if we let you join, what's in for the Rebellion?" the Keeper of the Heart asked of the businessman.

As an answer, Ludmoore proceeded to take the suitcase from the ground. "I still have my meridianite spy network. If the Rebellion admits me in their ranks, it will become its spy network. That means you will get eyes, ears and hands within the Guard, Cavigor, the Nobility's forces, and so on. Of course, I will give you a list containing the names of the rebels that have sold me information in the past. And although I have the suspicion that I'm presumed dead on the other side of the Veil," Ludmoore paused briefly, as if expecting the Keeper of the Heart to contradict him on that. Which of course Will didn't; "I still have ways to make contact with some low or middle-rank members of Earth's criminal underworld. That means the Rebellion could obtain resources as medicine or food."

Ludmoore opened the suitcase; he the only one could see its content. "But in case that isn't enough..." Charles continued, turning the suitcase around so everyone could see what it contained; "I believe this should be."

Once the businessman had turned the suitcase completely around, Ludmoore's interlocutors were surprised by what it held inside, albeit for different reasons. While the rebels, Guardians and Jade looked with confused expressions at the rhomboid, golden pendant that was inside the suitcase, the 'Mage' couldn't avoid letting out a gasp, approaching the suitcase Ludmoore was holding.

"Impossible," the 'Mage' said in shock, a show of emotion that surprised everyone in the room. "The Seal of Phobos… It cannot be."

"Seal of Phobos?" Jade asked. "Wait, that sounds familiar…"

"It's the artifact Mrs. Rudolph told us Elyon's parents and she used to travel to Earth;" Taranee cleared out.

"It's much more than that," the 'Mage' explained, taking the pendant from the suitcase. She held in her hands, her green eyes brightening slightly upon laying eyes upon the artifact, feeling the power inside of it. "Phobos created this during his youth, an artifact that was meant to bear his name and serve as a testament of his power. Albeit born from the Prince's arrogance, the artifact is supposed to be able to open anything." The 'Mage' paused for a few seconds, then held the pendant high and swung it in the air. In the blink of an eye, the motion created some kind of ripple effect on the air, which quickly became a flash of whitish blue light that then started to grow bigger until a Portal had opened in front of them all.

"I believe that will suffice as a demonstration," Ludmoore said coldly.

Magnificent, Nerissa thought for her part. Then the 'Mage' looked at Ludmoore, any trace of shock from her face gone. She deposited the Seal of Phobos back into the suitcase the businessman was holding, which he quickly closed. "This is how you managed to create your stabilized Portal."

"Indeed," Ludmoore said. "The Seal fell into my hands less than a decade ago, before you ask. Then it was a matter of opening a Portal and tinkering with it until I was able to stabilize and link it to several points on Meridian." Charles explained emotionlessly and coldly. "While that Portal no longer exists, you could use the Seal to open holes in the Veil from and to wherever you wanted to." Ludmoore gestured to the newly opened Portal. "Then it would be only a matter of closing it with the Heart of Kandrakar."

In cue, Will held the Heart of Kandrakar up, the spherical pendant shooting a beam of energy shortly after and closing the Portal. Once she put the Heart around her neck again, Caleb had walked until he was at her side. She eyes the rebel leader, who was probably having similar thoughts to hers.

"We will… consider your offer," the green eyed rebel leader told Charles. "In private."

"Of course," Ludmoore told him stoically. "Take as much time as you need."

As they started to depart, Will thanked every divine being she knew about that Caleb had made that decision. They needed to discuss this with as much calmness as it was possible.

The Small Council's room

"I'm telling you, it's Chi Magic, that's what his arm is!" Jade shouted.

"And I tell you, child;" the 'Mage' told her, barely audible since she didn't raise her voice; "that is impossible." At least, that is what I believe; Nerissa thought. Could it be that there was a possibility to use both Raw and Chi Magic at the same time? Had Ludmoore discovered it? Further investigation would be needed…

"He is a Ludmoore," the Baroness of Fallbottom said aloud. "His loyalty only lies with himself."

"You aren't the most appropriate person to talk about loyalties, lady;" Irma chimed in.

"We can't let him join!" Aldarn shrieked, making his voice to be heard over the rest of the shouting. "He will betray us at the first opportunity!"

"He won't!" Will yelled back. "What does he gain from betraying us?! To whom is he going to betray us?!"

"You just heard him, Will!" Taranee joined the discussion. "He only cares about profit!"

"And he won't be making more than with us!" the redhead yelled back. "That's precisely the point!"

"Are you serious?!" asked back the black girl.

"ENOUGH!" Caleb shouted then, smacking the table with his open palm. "I can't hear my own thoughts…"

Silence took hold of the room then, the tension in the air so palpable and intense that you could have cut it with a knife. The rebel leader rubbed his neck, moving it to the sides a couple of times. What to do? That was the only question that assaulted Caleb's mind right now. Ludmoore had come to them with a tentative offer. If this was his him of almost a year ago, he would have let him join the Rebellion without a doubt; but in light of late events… And yet, hadn't he let the Count and the Baroness to form an alliance with them without a problem? And hadn't that turned out in their favor?

"Why should we let him join us?" the rebel leader asked of the Keeper of the Heart.

"One, out of pragmatism;" Will told the scarred boy. "He's got resources, and very useful ones at that. Second, I want to have him under control."

"You want what?" Cornelia asked of her leader.

"Under control," Will repeated. "Look, Ludmoore isn't a nice guy, I get that. In fact, he can be kind of dangerous if left unchecked. That's the reason it's better to have him around us. As long as he perceives he'll make the most by helping us, he'll help us."

Alright, that makes sense; Taranee thought. But I'm still not sure. There is something about all this that unnerves me.

"This is… an idea I'm not comfortable with;" Vathek spoke for the first time since the conversation had started. "But as I said before," the blue Galhot added afterwards, "if it wasn't for Ludmoore I may never have learned about Carhaiz."

"I'm with Will on this one," Jade said, playing with a lock of her black hair. "Ludmoore's more useful to us as a 24/7 ally. And the Rebellion's been partnered with worse," she pointed out, rubbing her shoulder with her free hand, her scars aching momentarily. "And besides, if he tries something funny, we can just kill him," the Shapeshifter added in the end, earning herself some weird looks from her friends, at the exception of Gareth. "Oh c'mon, really? Like none of you haven't thought about it."

"The Keeper of the Heart and young Jade hold a very strong point," the 'Mage' told Caleb, looking at him directly, the green of her eyes against his own. "Ludmoore may be thinking he can use us to achieve his revenge against the Prince and gain more benefit from it than before, but at the same time we can use him to achieve our own goals while maintaining him under our leash." And I'm not letting the Seal of Phobos to get out of my grasp with such ease. The ability to open Portals or Folds without the use of my staff and spending my own power is… tempting.

"And the Faithful could benefit greatly if he really can give us more resources;" Sephiria added.

"What do we do, Caleb?" Drake asked of his leader after another uncomfortable silence.

As for the green eyed, scarred teen, he didn't know what to do. He thought, however, that a decision of such magnitude shouldn't be only his. "We should vote," the rebel leader declared. And even though some wanted to oppose to that idea, they all concluded it was the fastest and easiest way to solve this entire problem.

The voting took place in a complete different room, with each voter entering the room alone, depositing a small paper with their vote in a small urn and then exiting; one vote at a time. The 'Mage' entered first, followed by Vathek, Caleb, Drake, Aldarn and Sephiria. The Baroness of Fallbottom, her vote representing that of hers and Count Cornelius', was the next one to vote. Then entered Jade, she being in command of the remains of Rhouglar's disbanded band giving her the right to have a voice and vote in the matters of the Small Council. Will entered last, exiting the room with the urn in her hands afterwards. The votes were counted back in the Small Council room. There were nine votes in total, and from those nine, four were against admitting Ludmoore in the Rebellion, and five were in favor of it. Therefore, the not-so-Small-anymore Council had spoken.

Charles Ludmoore would be allowed to join and aid the Rebellion.

But of course, things weren't going to be so easy.

"I can't believe this," Aldarn said, violently rising from his seat. "Are you all mad?!"

"Aldarn, calm down;" Caleb told his friend. "This Council has..."

"Don't give me that crap, Caleb;" Aldarn declared scornfully, shocking the rebel leader.

"Aldarn, look;" Will intervened. "I like Ludmoore as much as you do, but if..."

"Enough!" the rebel yelled, silencing the redhead immediately. "Enough of all... of all this;" he said, gesturing to the room as a whole. "You have no right to say anything here."

"She has as much right as you," Drake declared, he and Vathek standing up too.

"Does she?" Aldarn retorted. His eyes fell over Caleb then, something between anger and sorrow in them. "Does she, really?!"

"Aldarn, I don't know what..." Caleb tried to plead with his friend.

"You don't know?!" Aldarn shouted. "I have stood here since the beginning, seeing how this Rebellion rose from being nothing to be the only thing standing in the Prince and his minions' way! Just to see it corrupted now! By them," he said, looking at the Guardians, Jade and the Baroness; "and by you;" he said, looking at Caleb.

"Wow that escalated..." Irma began.

"Shut up!" Aldarn shouted, making the brunette to effectively do so. "Just! Shut! Up! I won't tolerate this to continue! I won't accept it! Ludmoore won't join this Rebellion. Not as long as I am here."

"You have no right or rank to make that decision," Caleb retorted, standing up too. Fists and teeth clenching, the rebel leader stared at his oldest friend's face.

"I will," Aldarn said with determination. He proceeded to extract a scroll from under his clothes, tossing it at Drake afterwards. "Count the names! Those are the ones that are brave enough to stand alongside me for what this Rebellion should really be!"

"These... These are enough," Drake said nervously. Oh... oh, shit; Cyrus thought.

"Enough?" Jade wondered. "Enough for what?"

"For a challenge," Sephiria said, hands over her mouth, eyes darting between Caleb and Aldarn. "A challenge for the position of rebel leader, in case the current leader is not seen as fit to lead us."

"And I have enough supporters to do so," Aldarn declared, pointing a finger towards Caleb. "Caleb, son of Julian, I challenge you to a duel at dawn! And only the victor shall lead this Rebellion!"

And as Aldarn turned around and stormed out of the Small Council's room, Caleb couldn't do nothing but stare impotently at how his oldest friend in all of creation left; the feeling of betrayal the one that reigned over his entire being.

A few hours later, another section of the Infinite City

When Cyrus entered into the room he found Charles in exactly the same spot as before, sitting in the lonely chair with the suitcase containing the Seal of Phobos at his side, the only difference being that he was writing something down in a small notebook he was holding.

"What are you doing?" Cyrus asked of his elder brother.

"Writing down the names of the rebels on my payroll I can remember about," Charles explained in his faked cold voice. He stopped writting and closed the notebook, flexing his wooden wrist a couple of times. "Are we alone?"

"For now," Cyrus told his brother.

"Thank goodness," Charles retorted, dropping the faked cold demeanor.

"Starting to get tired of the greedy and cold guy act, big brother?" Cyrus asked with a smirk. "Here," he said, tossing a wine skin towards his brother that Charles took with ease; "have a drink, relax a little."

"Have I ever told you that I'm starting to think you have a problem with drinking?" Charles inquired, drinking from the wine skin afterwards. He stopped in the moment his tongue registered the flavor of the drink. Tastes like vinegar... Charles thought as he tossed the wine skin back at Cyrus.

"It's only a problem if I ever run out of it!" the youngest Ludmoore brother joked, something that made Charles to laugh a bit. "Anyway, it's not as if this wine was any good;" he added, throwing the wine skin to the ground.

"Did... did you do all this just to mess with me?" an amused Charles wondered.

"Hey, I'm the youngest;" Cyrus pointed out. "It's my duty to mess with my older siblings."

Charles chuckled at that. "How did everything go?"

"Well... the plan worked," Cyrus informed. "They reacted exactly as we expected. How did you know that Will would push for taking you in?"

"As the saying goes 'Know thy enemy', brother;" Charles said while standing up. "You don't spend generations plotting against someone without learning anything about them. Learning strengths, weaknesses…" Charles smirked as he said that, "patterns. Like the one concerning the Heart of Kandrakar seemingly always picking pragmatic and controlling girls to lead the Guardians. That, alongside all the information you have provided regarding young Miss Vandom's way of handling situations post-Torus Filney..."

"Gave you an approximate idea of how she would react to this situation," Cyrus ended the phrase for him.

"Exactly," Charles told his sibling. "Frankly, I consider young Miss Chan to be far more dangerous in a short term. Less diplomatic, less... predictable. Though they both can be troublesome in the long term."

"We'll have to worry about the long term later," Cyrus said then. "We have much more pressing matters to focus on now."

"How come?" Charles asked. "Has there been any problem?"

"A big one, actually;" Cyrus told his eldest brother. "Aldarn wasn't happy that we ended taking you in, so... he kind of challenged Caleb for leadership."

Charles didn't react with words. Instead, his eyes flared orange with the power of the Noble Pig, firing a shot of energy from his eyes that reduced the nearby wine skin to smoking pieces of leather. He calmed down afterwards.

"Was that... normal?" the blond rebel asked, a bit wary.

Sighing, Charles rubbed his neck with his flesh hand. "Although stealing Wong's magic has made me considerably more powerful, containing outbursts of anger is far more difficult than before," he explained. He raised his wooden hand in front of his face. "Having this power, not only the magic, but the power of these Talismans inside of me… no wonder Wong was so volatile. It's a little price to pay in exchange of being able to stand in equal footing with Lady Nimue, anyway."

"Oh yes, the sorceress that humiliated you;" Cyrus said as if it wasn't all that important. There was a hint of amusement in his voice, even. "Do you even know what she's been up to?"

"I'm not omniscient, brother. And truth to be told, it doesn't bother me. Come," he told his youngest brother while already walking; "I have had enough of waiting. Let's see if I can be useful in this little crisis."

Across the Veil, Egypt, undisclosed location

How old were these ruins? Mariko Takeda didn't know. What had they been in the past? A fortress… perhaps a temple? Mariko Takeda didn't know that either. The only thing that she knew was that some of her teacher's enemies used this place as their base of operations from time to time, and that it was their duty to stop… whatever they were doing. It hadn't been all that hard, something that anyone could deduce by looking at the more than two dozen wizards and witches, all dressed in golden robes and silver, featureless masks that lied at her and her boyfriend's feet. As Liam had remarked, it had been more difficult for the trio to find this place than to fight these people. They were all kind of… amateurish in their sorceries, if she had to be sincere. And why was sand everywhere?! Wait, no; that had been a stupid question. She knew why sand was everywhere. They were in the desert, of course there was sand!

As for Nimue, the ancient and mighty sorceress was advancing through the half-crumbled great hall of whatever this building had been in the distant past, towards an altar at the end of it, over which the last remaining golden-robed wizard muttered incantation towards an octagonal, golden object that floated in the air and that radiated energy. Nimue reached him in no time, even taking a few seconds to move a couple of her black and long hairs from her face and put them back in their place. When she was mere inches away from the wizard, she imbued her right hand with her purple magic and, after touching the man ever so slightly, he was hoisted into the air as if he had springs for feet.

"I completed the incantation!" the wizard yelled triumphantly as he flew towards the ceiling. "You failed, witch! You fai…!" BONK! The wizard had collided with the ceiling. He fell to the ground afterwards, sand softening the impact and generating a small 'poof' sound.

"I know," Nimue said without any worry. "You always complete the incantation. Well, not you;" she told the unconscious wizard; "but yes all the ones that have preceded you."

As the witch spoke, the octagonal trinket started to shine even more strongly, bursting into a million pieces afterwards. From inside the destroyed trinket came a small shadow that started to grow and grow, until it was as big as Nimue. Then the shadow started to take a shape, and after a minute, there was a woman floating over the altar.

An Egyptian woman, if Mariko's eyes didn't lie to her. Skin dark, the chin and nose sharp, she didn't look older than forty years old. She was dressed in a sleeveless white dress that reached all the way down to her ankles and that allowed anyone who looked at her to get a peek of her breasts through the sides of it. She wore a blue silk over it, and a golden cape that mimicked the wings of a falcon at her back. She was wearing a blue crown similar to the ones worn by the Queen-Pharaohs of old, decorated with golden ornaments and the biggest emerald Mariko had ever seen over her brow.

"Yes, I'm free!" the Egyptian woman shouted in pure joy. "After another century of imprisonment, I'm free again! And this time, all shall bow to Nihila, Queen of the Loom! Not even the flow of Fate itself will be safe from… oh, it's you;" she said plainly to Nimue; "and you brought new faces," she commented upon noticing Liam and Mariko.

As the Egyptian woman's enthusiasm diminished, Nimue did nothing but chuckle. "Yes, it's me;" Nimue told her interlocutor. "And my new apprentice. And her boyfriend. I'm sorry for not keeping this as just-you-and-me as I usually do."

"You won't be stopping me this time, old hag!" Nihila yelled, imbuing her fists in magic of gold and emerald colors.

"Okay, first of;" Nimue said seriously, coating her entire being in purple magic and levitating until she was at the same height as her adversary. "I'm only four hundred years older than you. Second, respect your elders!" Nimue said, unleashing a wave of light purple energy that sent Nihila to the ground. "And third, how many times have we done this over the last six centuries, Nihila? Twenty, twenty-one?"

"Twenty-three," the Egyptian ancient sorceress said, rather pessimistically. And in each of those encounters she had ended sealed again… She shook her head. "But it won't happen this time! This time I will best you!"

"Or you could stop this whole 'Take over Fate itself' nonsense and save all of us some valuable time!" Nimue scolded her. "Find a good place to live in! Do something less stressful than trying to put one of the universe's most complex mechanics under your thrall!"

"Never!" Nihila yelled, flying at high speed towards Nimue.

Sighing, the witch from old Britannia prepared to block the incoming attack. "Different century, same obstinacy."

Across the Veil, Infinite City

The sun would be setting soon enough, or at least that was what the Guardians, the Chan Clan and their friends suspected. Dawn would arrive in a handful of hours, and then Caleb would have to duel Aldarn. And that meant they had less time to act than the one they had expected to have. As such, once the Guardians and Jade had left the members of the Rebellion's Small Council to their own devices, they had gathered the rest of their party in one large chamber far away from the eyes of any rebel, and they had explained to the rest the situation they found themselves in now.

"Where is Caleb now?" Jackie asked of the girls.

"He said he needed to be alone," Taranee explained. "Considering how close he seemed to be with Aldarn, we thought it better to let him be."

"And what do we do now?" the archeologist inquired yet again.

"We follow the plan," Will said with decision and authority. "We take Alchemy and Mrs. Rudolph to Lannion, and see if they can bring Elyon to our side. I know it's risky, but if we succeed, then this war's practically won. So we're going to split into two teams, one that will go to Lannion and the other staying here to make sure nothing goes wrong with Aldarn and Caleb's duel."

"So who goes and who stays?" Viper asked.

Will gave a few steps, walking just enough so she could look at all her teammates to their faces. "Jackie and Viper, you two go to Lannion with Mrs. Rudolph and Alchemy. The Mage told us that her spy is currently in Lannion, so she'll meet with you and tell you where Elyon is. You get Mrs. Rudolph and Alchemy in as fast and quietly as possible. This is a stealth mission, so avoid any fight if necessary. And remember, even if we're allied to Count Cornelius, we can't raise any suspicion. If a soldier detects you, they'll try to kill you. Hay Lin, Taranee;" the Keeper addressed the Air and Fire Guardians; "you two are support. If any big fight that Viper and Jackie can't handle breaks out, you two handle it."

"Yes!" Hay Lin cheered energetically, even mimicking a soldier's salute.

"And if we can't win the fight?" Taranee inquired.

"Then you gather everyone and get out of Lannion," Will answered, earning herself a nod of approval from the black, bespectacled girl.

"Wait, what about me?" Cornelia asked.

"What about you?" Jade asked back to the blonde.

Ignoring the Chan girl, the Earth Guardian looked at Will. "You send a team to rescue Elyon and you don't send me?! Why?!" she asked, yelling

"Because you are the Guardian of Earth!" Will yelled back, losing her cool and surprising not only Cornelia, but everyone else in the room. "Which is the element this entire place is buried into! You, Irma and Jade are this team's heavy-hitters! I doubt Caleb's going to lose his duel, but what happens if he does?! Aldarn didn't seem too happy with us back there, did he?" Will stopped, breathing quickly, trying to calm down. Damn it, why had her life to be so stressful all the time? "I need you here, Cornelia."

"But…" the blonde protested, just for Alchemy to approach her and to put a hand over the blonde's back.

"Have faith in us, Cornelia;" Alchemy told her friend. "We will bring Elyon back, I promise."

With that solved, Will raised the Heart of Kandrakar up, transforming the Guardians back into their human forms. "We should get some rest," she told her companions. "If the duel's at dawn, then it's better if you depart before it starts. So we'll get some sleep, wake up in a few hours and transform back. Everyone okay with that?" the redhead asked and everyone nodded in turn. "Awesome. Let's go find a place we can sleep in."

At the same time…

The knives were in place.

"Have you heard?"

"There's goin' to be a duel, a duel!"

"Aldarn challenged Caleb!"

"The King Smuggler... here?!"

"As if we didn't have enough with the Beast..."

"Stop sayin' crazy stuff, lass!"

"What?! Why?!"

"A duel, a duel!"

"Light of Meridian..."

"Duel, duel, duel, duel!"

The knives were in place. They had been in place for a long time, but she knew rushing things would only end in her getting defeated and placed on a cell. Patience was the mother of most victories, after all. The Blade of Meridian hadn't raised a fool, after all.

Mother... Ishol thought, sitting in the dusty floor, back lying against a cold wall. Mother... what was she doing now? How was she doing? Rebels came and went away, talking about how she had entered the war. But just like the sharpest of blades rusts away, the greatest of warriors ages too. The fallen Viscountess feared for her mother's safety, for she knew that, even if still a great swordswoman, Lady Galiene was old.

And what of Roderick, her lovely, honorable and kind husband? She could picture him in his cell, imprisoned by the ones that should be behind bars. And what about all the others? The rebels, like the pigs they were, had been feasting over the death of old Ghiscar. Would that be the end her fellow nobles would meet if the rebels won the war. And what about the folk of Torus Filney? Torus Filney...

My home, my... my people; she thought with sadness. But as the next yell of 'Duel!' reached her ears, sadness became anger once again. The anger boiled for a moment, but then it cooled down. And as she continued to sit there, hearing more and more about how the rebel leader had been challenged; the auburn haired noblewoman could only think about one thing.

The knives were in place.

Meanwhile…

"I know it's not too much," Will told her boyfriend as she guided him to the room where they all were going to sleep. It was a simple chamber, with large bags full of straw and other soft materials distributed across the floor and covered in simple blankets; acting as beds for the rebels. Vathek had told them they could use this room to rest and not get troubled, that he and Drake would make sure they didn't get disturbed at all; "but it's what they've got here, so…"

"Hey, it can't be worse than camping with my parents;" Matt joked, making the redhead to laugh a bit. Christ, she looked so tired. "Ah… Will?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for…" the teenage guitarist began. "Thanks for bringing me here today. You didn't have to, and I know I've been insisting too much into being part of it, and… just thank you."

"It's nothing," Will told her boyfriend. I actually did it so seeing so many people hurt would scare you; she thought. And it hasn't worked. "Jackie told me you all were helping with the wounded."

"Oh yeah, that was… cool, I guess;" Matt said awkwardly. "I just helped some of those Faithful dudes carrying things around. Jackie's, er… Talisman, is it?" Will nodded. "That Horse Talisman of his did all the work, actually. That was actually very awesome, the people just had to grip the thing and then there were some sparkles and the wounds were gone. I suppose that's how magic…"

"Matt, can I ask you a question?" Will interrupted him.

"Sure," her boyfriend told her.

"Why are you so obsessed with helping people?" Will asked, throwing Matt out for a second. "I mean, it's not that there's anything wrong with that, but… Look, this is a war. And the girls and I are fighting in it because it's basically our job. Somebody in some weird place called Kandrakar just decided one day to give me this thing," she said, tapping the Heart of Kandrakar; "and told us to save a planet and win a war. Sometimes, I start thinking why I keep doing it, even after everything that's already happened, and every time I come to the conclusion that it's because I couldn't look another way even if I wanted to. Not now." Will paused a bit, looking at her boyfriend. "But why are you so insistent into helping us? And don't tell me it's because is the right thing to do, or…"

"Because I don't like it," Matt answered.

"What?"

"One day, when I was younger," the teen started to explain to the redhead; "I went for a walk around Heatherfield. I was just minding my own business when I saw a couple of punks bothering some homeless man in an alley. I ran towards them, told them to get out or I'd call the police. The moment they glared at me I almost shit myself and thought 'Way to go, Olsen! You're an idiot!';" Matt said, laughing a bit nervously at the memory. "But at the end they just walked away. Turns out they were just a couple of bullies, some idiots that didn't have anything better to do with their time than picking on people weaker than them. I helped the homeless guy up, told him if he needed for me to call the police and tell them what had just happened. He told me," Matt continued, lost in his memories. For the teen guitarist it was as if that homeless man was just right there in front of him; "he told me 'It doesn't matter. I'm accustomed to it, it always happens'. And I don't like… that."

"You don't like… injustice?" Will asked. She thought that she was understanding where the other teen was trying to go, but he wasn't exactly being clear.

"No, I don't like… I don't like powerlessness;" Matt told her. "And I know it sounds childish or silly, especially coming from a guy whose big dream's to start a band with his friends, but… I just… this feeling that there's no hope, that no matter what you do, things aren't going to change for the better, that there's no point in fighting because the fight's already lost. I don't like that one bit. I just hate it." Matt looked directly at Will, his eyes becoming brighter and making her own to brighten in return. "That's the reason what you're doing it's so important, Will. It's not about winning, or losing, or choosing the lesser evil, or whatever. It's about giving people hope. And I doubt there's been anything in any world that's given anyone more hope than what you do."

"God I love you," Will said suddenly, and before Matt had any opportunity to say 'I love you too', Will had launched herself at him and put her lips against his. The kiss lasted for quite a time, and when the pair of teens broke their embrace, both of them were redder than tomatoes. "I know," she told him, no need for him to say it with words.

Caleb's private room

"I told you I wanted to be alone, didn't I?"

Cornelia let Caleb's question to linger in the air. It wasn't that she didn't wish to answer, but that she found hard to concentrate in the question. She found the room around them much more interesting. Caleb's room. Or at least what she supposed it was Caleb's room.

The blonde couldn't avoid comparing it to her own and to the idea she had in her head about what a boy's room should be. Her room was organized and well-illuminated, painted in bright colors. Her bed was comfy and soft, her shelves full of magazines, while her trophies and gold medals from her ice-skating matches were always at the top. Her idea of a boy's room came from the few times she had seen the one that belonged to Irma's little brother, or the ones she had seen in movies. Disorganized, sometimes dirty, full of things like posters, videogames, and remnants of fast food... But then again, were the rooms of Irma and Jade any different?

This room was. It was austere and impersonal, and of the same green stone as the rest of the Infinite City was. There were no windows and no tables or chairs, just a lonely bed. There were weapons, though. Quite a large bunch of swords of varying sizes, some daggers, a couple of bows, a lot of arrows. There was a lance, and a big one at that. Weird, she had never seen Caleb using a lance.

It was a soldier's room.

"You should've known I wasn't going to do that," the blonde Guardian told the rebel leader. "I want to know how you're doing."

"I'm fine," he said. He had his back turned towards her, making Cornelia unable to see his face.

"No, you're not;" the Earth Guardian said matter-of-factly.

"So what?!" Caleb yelled suddenly, turning around. His eyes were teary, making the green in them to look more vibrant than usual. "Why do you want to know?!"

Oh, there it was. The pent-up emotions, coming all at once when they couldn't be repressed anymore. If this was any other person, they may have reacted by being calm and understanding. However, this wasn't any person. This was Cornelia Hale.

"Because I care about you, you jackass!" Cornelia shouted to Caleb's face. She stomped forward, no mini-earthquake or cracking floor this time, driving a finger into Caleb's chest. "I come here to check on you, and what does great rebel leader do?! Act like a complete and colossal jerk!"

"Nobody asked you to do that!" Caleb yelled back, leaning forward. "Nobody told you to do... anything! What can you do, anyway?! I have to duel my oldest friend at dawn! Probably to the death!" Caleb raised his hands in the air. "What can you possibly know about...?!"

The slap came fast and strong, forcing Caleb to turn his head to the side due to the impact's force. When he looked back at Cornelia, the blonde's blue eyes were flaring with fury.

"Don't you dare to tell me that I don't understand what's to lose a friend! Don't you dare to tell me that I don't know what's to be forced to fight a friend!" Cornelia shouted to his face.

"I... I'm sorry," Caleb, now calmer, said. "It's just... I don't... I don't understand." The rebel leader sat down in his bed, arms over his thighs, head down. Cornelia sat beside him shortly after. "Aldarn isn't just my friend, he's... he's like a brother to me. I have grown up with him. I have laughed with him, cried with him, bleed with him. I always thought that, no matter what happened, I could count on him. I..." Cornelia put a hand over Caleb's back, no differently than what Alchemy had done to her. "I don't… I don't want to fight him."

"Then don't do it!" Cornelia pointed out.

"I have to," Caleb told her. "It's how it works. When the Rebellion was formed, there were some members that feared that whoever was leading them would take them down a wrong path. So it was made official that, as long as he or she had enough support, any member of the Small Council could challenge the leader to a duel."

"Okay, that's just… stupid;" the Earth Guardian pointed out. "Everyone could just go and ask some people to support them in exchange of favors and take the leadership anytime. Whose idea was that?"

"My father's," Caleb said plainly.

"Oh," Cornelia said in turn. "S-Sorry."

"No, don't apologize;" Caleb said. "It is stupid. I don't even know why monsters like Rhouglar or Tharquin never tried to do that." Caleb chuckled darkly. "Probably because they didn't need to, since I let them do as they pleased."

"Caleb, what those people did wasn't your fault, okay?" Cornelia told the scarred boy. "You've been doing everything you can to give Meridian a better Rebellion, so stop torturing yourself every time something goes wrong."

"Aldarn thinks I corrupted the Rebellion, and he wants to duel me for it;" Caleb stated.

"Then Aldarn's wrong!" Cornelia told him, a sentence that made the rebel leader to look up at her, the green of his eyes against the blue of hers. "Just because he's your best friend that doesn't mean you should be justifying everything he does and blaming yourself for it!" Cornelia paused for a second, and then chuckled just like Caleb had done moments before. "Wow, I sounded just like the biggest hypocrite in the universe right there."

That earned her a small laughter from her fellow teenager. "I still have to fight him."

"You'll do what you have to do;" Cornelia told him. "But... just try not to die, okay? And if you're forced to use this;" she said, pointing to the hilt of the Sword of Thanatos; "we'll be there to knock you out. For real this time."

"Thank you, Cornelia;" Caleb said sincerely. "For... for everything, actually."

"Hey, isn't that what friends are for?" the blonde said.

"Yes, that's what… friends are for;" Caleb retorted.

Both of them laughed at how Caleb had phrased that. It sounded like a short, quick and awkward laugh, similar to a giggle. Then they let silence to speak for them. 'Friend', they had called each other. Both found that definition to be... inadequate. Was right to call it inadequate? They were friends; there was no lie in that. But was that everything they really were? More importantly, was that all they wanted to be? Though they ignored what each other's feelings and desires were, they couldn't ignore their own. Both of them, even with all their baggage, were too headstrong to do that.

That was the reason why, when Cornelia leaned forward and put her lips over his, he didn't try to fight or avoid it. When Caleb joined in, she welcomed it. And that was enough for both teens to understand that, yes; each did reciprocate the other's feelings.

And the following kisses came like something as natural as breathing.

Aldarn's own room

In a similar way to Caleb, Aldarn had also decided to wait for the time of the duel in his room. If he was going to be able to get some sleep, that he didn't know. He knew it would be beneficial for him to rest before dueling, but a part of him feared any traitorous attack that may come, and another was feeling too many things to be able to get any sleep. He was just sitting there in an old chair, in the middle of the room. In his right hand he was holding the Mask of the demon, in the other a bow.

No, not just a mere bow. This was the bow that Caleb had taken from that armory at the castle that fateful day more than half a year ago. When, thanks to a fluke of destiny, he had met with the Guardians and with the earthlings. Was he judging all of them too harshly? They had done a lot of good for this Rebellion, both in and out of the battlefield…

But who did they think they were, making the rebel army ally themselves with nobles?! Who did they think they were, forcing the rebels to cooperate, to work side by side, for the people that for thirteen long years had stood up over a mountain made out of the corpses of their companions?! Who did the Guardians think they were, blessing of Kandrakar or not, to ally themselves and forgive those that had done nothing but support Phobos' rule while hiding behind the walls of their Great Cities?!

And who was Caleb, who once had called himself his friend and proud leader of this Rebellion, thinking he was; doing the same?!

Not my leader, Aldarn thought bitterly. Shame was the only thing those actions had brought upon them and the dead. Never again!

With fury, Aldarn tossed the bow aside. The weapon collided with a wall and fell to the ground. He held the Mask with both hands afterwards, the blue visage looking back at him with eerie green eyes, mouth opened and showing the monster's fangs. Whoever had crafted this thing had captured this being's supposed bloodthirstiness quite well.

Aldarn wasn't ignorant of how these artifacts worked, or what had happened to those who had worn them for a face before him. However, he was confident that his case wouldn't be the same. Of course men like Lothar would succumb to the powers of a demon; he was as foul as his master. And that wasn't the rebel's case. He would dominate the demon within the Mask, putting his endless army of shadows at his orders! As for his face becoming blue and scaly for the rest of his life… well, that wasn't important. A small sacrifice in exchange for finally ending this bloody war, and avenging those that had been lost.

Yes. It will be worth it; Aldarn thought.

It will be all worth it, in the end.

To those who say 'The Enemy of my Enemy is my Friend', I tell: Alliances built over common adversaries are quick to fall apart once said enemy is gone. And in the way of making new friends out of your old adversaries, you may lose old friends too. Oracle Himerish

Author's Notes: Hello again! Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Frankly… this was scheduled to be updated one month ago, but as said before, life's been extremely complicated until now, and I haven't had a lot of time to write. I actually wanted to show the start of Caleb and Aldarn's duel here, and the start of the mission to Lannion, but I think I'll reserve those for a separate chapter, since this one already has enough things going on in it. Having said that, it's time for you all to judge. Leave a review if you feel like it, thanks for reading, and until next time.

Bye, bye!