A/N: I do not own Nintendo or any of it's games or systems.

Chapter 28:

The next day, during Lunch, our heroes were taking a break from talking about Guardian business and instead talking about what they might go dressed as for the three days of the carnival.

"So who are you going to dress as for the carnival, Hay Lin?", Selece asked.

"Honestly... I'm still thinking about it.", Hay Lin said. "I mean, there are some many characters to dress as."

"I hear you there.", Selece said. "The choices are just about endless."

"Plus, if you can pull it off, you can bust out at least four costumes.", Alchemy said.

"Four?", Will questioned.

"Yeah!", Alchemy said. "One for the first day, another for the teen dance, another for Saturday, and another for Sunday. And that's not even counting for the different contest on Sunday."

"Which is at least five.", Taranee said. "That's a lot of costumes."

"What kind of contest will there be?", Will asked.

"Well, there's the singles men followed by the singles women.", Angelo said.

"Followed by group guys and group girls.", Cornelia added.

"And finally, co-ed group.", Micheal finished.

"You know what would be cool?", Elyon questioned. "If we entered the group contest!"

"We could split up into groups and pull off some sweet costumes!", Hay Lin said. "But we first have to think of a theme."

"It'll have to depend on who's teaming up with who.", Alchemy replied. "Not to mention them all coming to an agreement on what theme to go with. As well as they working together to make the costumes. Not all of us can sew."

"Very true.", Will said. "My only problem is there aren't many red-headed characters out there. I know there's that Black Widow from that Avengers movie."

"There's a few red-heads in video games and comics.", Irma said. "You just have to be willing to wear the outfits.", she said with a smirk.

"Oh joy.", Will said not liking Irma's smirk.

"Not all outfits are revealing.", Angelo said. "Take Jean Grey from X-Men Legends One and Two. Her outfit isn't so bad."

"Oh yeah!", Micheal said remembering the game. "And the outfit shouldn't be so hard to make. Heck! Caleb can even join up with you as Cyclops. He's got the hair color for it."

"Very true.", Angelo said.

"Why would I want to do this stuff?", Caleb said. "Matter fact, why are any of you getting so worked up about this? A Guardians, we should be more concern about this Friday that this.", he said getting groans from the others.

"You are a real joykill.", Selece said. "We know we have to be ready for this Friday."

"We're just taking sometime from planning to just be normal teenagers for once, Caleb.", Will said getting annoyed with his attitude.

"And as our leader, you need to set a better example!", Caleb said. "When I led the rebels, we stayed focused when we had an important mission. Not got play games like little children. You and Cassidy need to start acting like leaders!"

No one said a word knowing that Caleb had once again said something stupid. Even his two best friends, Drake and Aldern shook their heads knowing that he had crossed a line. For they, as well as the others, knew that Will was a good leader. Even Irma was surprised by what Caleb had said. As for Will, she simply got to her feet and walked off. It was then that all the girls got up and went after Will but not before Taranee and Selece gave Caleb a glare that surprised even him.

"Are you stupid or are you just trying to see how far you can push your luck.", Micheal asked Caleb.

"You went to far with what you said to Will, Caleb.", Aldern said. "You know that if it wasn't for her, and the rest of you working together with the queen, Phobos would still be in power."

"All I'm saying is that she, as well as Cassidy, needs to be more focused as leaders.", Caleb said. "They can talk about this carnival stuff next week. We need to be more focused on the task at hand."

"And you need to realise that as teenagers, we could use a break every now and then.", Angelo said. "And what we were doing a minute ago, was us doing that."

"Will knows that we have something important to do.", Matt said. "But she, along with most of us, also know that we could use a little something to lighten the mode."

"Well, I believe we need to stay focus on the task at hand!", Caleb replied. "It'll keep us steadfast and strong in mind."

"That may have worked for us in the rebellion, Caleb. Seeing as we were in constant danger of getting caught.", Drake said. "But look around, my friend. Your enemy isn't foolish enough to try something against us here."

"Well I still say that we need to stay on task.", Caleb said. "Not talk about what plans we have for some silly carnival."

"You talk as if you'd make a better leader than Will and Cassidy.", Micheal said with a questionable raised eyebrow.

"Well... maybe I would be.", Caleb said as his eyes began to wander around the area. "I led the rebels a long time and was able to do so when Will and the Guardians came along. Maybe... I would make a good leader here too.", surprising the other guys.

"Are you... You know what? You crossed a line, Caleb.", Angelo said. "You're not the leader here. Will and Cassidy are. And if you even try and pull a take over, I will stop you. And you can count on that.", he said as he got up to leave with the other guys right behind him.

As for Will, she was in a Bathroom with the other girls who were trying give her some comfort after Caleb's little comment.

"What a jerk!", Cornelia said as she handed Will some tissue to wipe her eyes as they were watering. "I can't believe he said that to you."

"You and Cassidy need to start acting like leaders!", Cassidy said in a deep voice impersonating Caleb. "He needs to lighten up and learn to have fun."

"Not to mention, apologize to the two of you.", Hay Lin said to Will and Cassidy.

"Forget it, girls.", Will said. "Caleb can be stubborn and a bit pig-headed sometimes. But you know, if I didn't know any better, I'd say that he wants to take over leadership of the Guardians."

"He can try.", Selece said. "Then he'd get his butt kicked!"

"Got that right!", Cassidy said.

"Come on, guys.", Irma said. "I don't think Caleb would try that. Besides. I don't even think he can take the Hearts from you two.", she said to Will and Cassidy. "Just let him cool off and he'll see that he was wrong for what he said."

"There you go again! Taking up for him!", Selece said. "Do you secretly want to get with Caleb or something?", Selece questioned which got all the girls looking at the Water Guardian with suspicion.

"What!?", Irma questioned. "Yeah right! Like I want to get with Rebel-boy! All I'm saying is that Will shouldn't be so quick to judge Caleb so quickly."

"Yeah well, me and Caleb may not be together for much longer.", Will said surprising the girls.

"Whoa!", Selece said. "Are you sure about this, Will? Maybe you should think about this before you go through with anything."

"After the way he's been treating you and some of the others, you're taking up for him?", Will questioned.

"Well, Caleb can be a complete jerk sometimes, but the guy does care about you.", Selece said. "All I'm saying is that you should give him a chance before you make any rash decisions."

'Who! Never thought she'd be on Caleb's side.', Irma thought to herself.

"I agree with Selece.", Cornelia said getting surprised looks from the girls. "I know. He's been a major jerk to me. But, he does deserve a second chance. Even though he, and somebody else, hasn't given me one.", she said as she look at Irma out of the corner of her eye.

"Can you blame us?", Irma asked. "After all you did try to kill..."

"Irma, shut up.", Will said. "You know the truth behind that. So back off."

"Whatever you say.", Irma said.

"As a matter fact, I think it's time that W.I.T.C.H. was W.I.T.C.H. again.", Will said confusing the girls.

"What are you talking about, Will?", Taranee questioned.

"I mean I want the original W.I.T.C.H. back.", Will said. "With Cornelia back as our "C" again.", she said as she looked at Cornelia with a smile.

"Wow!", Elyon said surprised by what Will just said like the others were. "That's big."

"A-A-Are you sure?", Cornelia asked. "I mean Caleb won't like..."

"It doesn't matter about what Caleb will or won't like.", Will said. "Me, you, Taranee, Hay Lin, and Irma were W.I.T.C.H. in the beginning. And we were great together. Sure we may have had our faults, but we did great. So I'm asking you, Cornelia, to come back to the team."

"If it's okay with the rest of you.", Cornelia said to Taranee, Hay Lin, and Irma.

"Yes! Yes! YES!", Hay Lin said with her beaming smile as she hopped up and down.

"It's something that I've been hoping would happen for a long time.", Taranee said with a smile that Cornelia returned.

"What about you, Irma?", Will asked as she looked at her fellow Guardian.

"No.", Irma said as she had her head held down.

"What was that, Irma?", Will asked.

"I said NO!", Irma snapped as she lifted her head glaring at Will. "No way do I want her back in W.I.T.C.H.!"

"But, Irma..."

"Don't you but me, Hay Lin!", Irma snapped at her best friend surprising everyone there. "Bad enough she's a Guardian again! But there's no way I'd let her come back to our team!"

"Oh really?", Will questioned as she walked up to Irma. "Well it seems that you're outnumbered three to one, Irma. So I guess Cornelia is back with W.I.T.C.H. So you might as well accept it."

"You don't have to do this, Will.", Cornelia said. "If one of you doesn't want me back..."

"Dang straight I don't!", Irma said while glaring at Cornelia. "We're doing great without you! So why change things?", she asked Will.

"Because it's the right thing to do.", Will said. "And we are taking Cornelia back.", she said in a stern tone as she gave Irma a stern look letting her know that she meant business to which Irma said nothing.

"So does this mean we'll be getting Caleb?", Alchemy asked.

"Yeah.", Will said. "Sorry.", she said with a smile.

"Well, this will be fun.", Selece said while rolling her eyes getting a laugh out of all but Irma.

"So how are you going to break the news to Caleb?", Hay Lin asked Will.

"After we take care of things on Friday.", Will said. "We don't need any major distractions throwing us off."

"Good idea.", Cassidy said. "Last thing we need is Caleb trying to prove he's better suited to be a part of W.I.T.C.H. during our raid on the place."

"Exactly what I was thinking.", Will said as they left the Bathroom. "So no one tell him about this.", she said before turning to Irma. "And I mean nobody."

"I won't tell him.", Irma said. "I promise."

"Thank you, Irma.", Will said before continuing down the hall with the other girls.

'At least not up front.', Irma thought to herself. 'There are other ways of him finding out without telling him.', she thought as a small smirk grew on her face. 'And I know just how to do it.'

The next day during Lunch Cornelia was getting her bagged lunch from her locker when she ran into Sylla.

"Oh! Hello, Ms. Hale.", Sylla said to the Earth Guardian.

"Hi, Mr. Sylla.", Cornelia said to the teacher who was actually an F.B.I. agent. "How are you doing today?"

"I'm doing fine.", Sylla said. "I'm glad to see that you're doing well."

"Thanks.", Cornelia said with a smile. "I'd like to thank you for visiting me in the hospital as well. Not many teachers do that."

"It was my pleasure.", Sylla said. "And I see that you and Ms. Vandom and Ms. Lair are friends now."

"Well, Will and I are friends.", Cornelia said. "Irma is another story."

"I see.", Sylla said. "Well, give it time. I'm sure that things will work out for you all."

"I hope so.", Cornelia said.

"Well, I'm off to get me something to eat before Lunch is over with.", Sylla said as he checked his watch. "You have a good day, Ms. Hale."

"You have a good day, as well, Mr. Sylla.", Cornelia said to him as he walked off.

Sylla gave Cornelia a wave that she returned before going outside to where the others were. Once outside, she spotted the others sitting under the tree where they normally sat.

"Hey, guys.", Cornelia said as she sat with them.

"And where have you been?", Caleb asked in a suspicious tone.

"I ran into Mr. Sylla who asked about how I was doing.", Cornelia replied as she sat with Elyon and Alchemy.

"That was nice of him.", Hay Lin said before she ate some of the grapes she had with her.

"Yeah. Nice.", Caleb said not caring. "Now can we get back to the matter of what we have to do this Friday?"

"Sorry but no.", Cassidy said.

"And why not?", Caleb questioned. "This is important!"

"We can't because Nigel and Eric are joining us for Lunch.", Taranee said. "They weren't sitting with us before because they were having lunch with their other friends."

"But today, they'll be eating with us.", Hay Lin said happily as Eric and Nigel came walking up to them.

"Well that's just... Ow!", Caleb said just as Will elbowed him in the side.

"Behave.", Will said to Caleb. "We can talk about the mission tomorrow.", she said as Nigel and Eric sat with them.

"Hey, guys!", Eric said with a friendly smile. "What's up?"

"Nothing much.", Hay Lin said. "We were just talking about what costumes we were thinking about wearing for the carnival."

"Aw, man! The whole cosplay thing is a sweet idea!", Nigel said. "I just need to think of what to where."

"Same here.", Eric said. "I mean for three days and two nights we get to be just about whoever we want to be! Awesome!"

"Well, Angelo and I have been coming up with some ideas.", Hay Lin said smiling.

"Such as?", Eric asked.

"Well, we're still working on some of them, but we definitely thought of one for Cornelia, Drake, and Aldern for the co-ed group costume contest."

"You have?", Aldern questioned. "What is it?"

"This!", Hay Lin said as she reached into her back pack and pulled out a folder and opened it. "Ta-da!"

Everyone look at the three drawings Hay Lin did or Cornelia, Drake, and Aldern each in outfits she and Angelo thought of for them.

"Whoa!", Matt said. "Good choices!"

"Really?", Cornelia asked. "I mean they look great, but are the costumes from a movie or cartoon?"

"Seriously?", Elyon questioned as she looked at her friend. "You never played The Legend Of Zelda?"

"The Legend Of what now?", Cornelia questioned.

"Only one of the best video game series ever!", Nigel said.

"I like it.", Drake said.

"Me too.", Aldern agreed.

"I do like the dress.", Cornelia said. "But I have no idea what the game is about."

"Well, we'll just have to fix that.", Alchemy said. "I have the Ocarina Of Time for 3DS. You three can take turns playing it and get a feel of the game."

"Okay.", Aldern said. "Sounds like fun."

"Trust me, dude. You'll have a blast playing it.", Angelo said.

"So what other ideas do you two have?", Selece asked.

"Well...", Hay Lin said she turned the pages of her folder.

And so for the rest of Lunch, Hay Lin and Angelo told the others of their ideas for costumes they could wear for the carnival. Later that day, when school had ended, Irma and Matt were standing next to a tree and some bushes waiting for the others to show up.

"So Caleb still banned from training with you guys?", Matt asked Irma.

"Yeah.", Irma said as she leaned against the tree. "I know that we screwed up in the mission, but we all need to be in fighting form for Friday."

"True.", Matt said. "But Caleb is a seasoned warrior. He'll be in great shape Friday. So don't worry about it."

"I guess you're right.", Irma said. "By the way, did any of the others tell you what Will wants to do?"

"Yeah! Hay Lin told me.", Matt said. "I know that Caleb isn't going to like it."

"I'm sure he'll be okay with it.", Irma said. "I mean if it'll make Will happy, then Caleb will be okay with it."

"Really?", Matt questioned with a raised eyebrow. "No way will he be happy with Cornelia being a part of W.I.T.C.H. again. I mean, where will that leave him? On Cassidy's team."

"I guess so.", Irma said.

"This may not go so well for you all.", Matt said as he checked his watch. "Listen. I got to go help my grandpa stock some things for the pet shop. But I'll be able to join you and the others for some training.", he said before they shared a kiss. "Later."

"Later.", Irma said as she watched Matt run off.

Once Matt was out of sight, a smirk grew on Irma's face glad to of gotten what she had planned done.

"Now aren't you glad that you hid behind those bushes, like I asked you to?", she asked as she turned to look at the bushes only for Caleb to stand up from behind them.

"Yes. I am.", Caleb said with a scowl on his face. "Thanks for telling me."

"Now, now.", Irma said in a playful tone. "Matt was the one who told you. Sort of."

"True.", Caleb said. "But right now, I'm going to make sure that Cornelia doesn't become a part of W.I.T.C.H. again. I will not be teamed up with those wannabes!"

"Then I say we go and stand our ground!", Irma said as he cell phone began to ring. "It's Hay Lin.", she said as she answered her phone. "What's up, Hay-Hay?"

"Hay, Irma!", Hay Lin said in her chipper voice. "Where are you? The rest of us are in Heatherfield Forest about to begin training."

"I just got finished talking with Matt.", Irma said. "He'll be joining us after he helps his grandfather with something."

"Okay.", Hay Lin said. "Get here soon. We're at Heatherfield Lake."

"I will.", Irma said as she hung up her phone. "You ready to go?", she asked Caleb.

"Yes.", Caleb said as they went own an alley and teleported to Heatherfield Forest.

It didn't take them long to get to Heatherfield Forest. But instead of teleporting to where the others were, they ended up in another part of the forest.

"We so got to work on our teleporting.", Irma said as she and Caleb stood among the trees.

"Don't worry about it.", Caleb said. "We'll find them."

"And I know how.", Irma said. "They're at Heatherfield Lake."

"So?", Caleb questioned.

"So, with my powers, I can find them by feeling out the water.", Irma said as she closed her eyes and began to focus on the nearest body of water which didn't take her long to find. "Found it! They're that-a-way!", she said pointing west.

"Then let's go.", Caleb said as he and Irma began to walk towards the lake where the others were.

Speaking of the other Guardians, they were doing some training as their normal selves while waiting for Irma to show up. With them were Micheal, Elyon, Drake, and Aldern who decided to train with them as well. Everyone was dressed in t-shirts and old sneakers with either shorts or sweatpants on. Everyone was paired up and doing some sparring. Alchemy was sparring with Elyon, while Selece was sparring with Cassidy. Hay Lin was sparring with Taranee while Drake and Micheal were sparring. Angelo and Aldern were doing some sparring while Will and Cornelia were doing some sparring. As this was going on, Matt suddenly teleported there.

"Whoa!", he said surprised by what was going on. "Did I miss something?"

"Hey, Matt.", Selece said to the Regent as she and Alchemy finished their sparring. "What's up?"

"You tell me.", Matt said. "You and Alchemy going at it. Hay Lin and Taranee, too. What's going on?"

"Oh that!", Alcheny said. "We decided to do some sparring with each other as ourselves."

"We feel that if we get stronger as ourselves, we'll be stronger as Guardians.", Alchemy explained.

"That makes sense.", Matt said. "I've been doing some working out, as myself, and it has shown when I go Regent."

"Hey, Matt.", Micheal said to him as he and Drake walked up to him. "You up for some sparring?"

"Sure.", Matt said.

"Just give me a few minutes to rest.", Micheal said as he turned to look at Cornelia and Will sparring with each other. "They're good."

"Yeah!", Matt said. "I never knew that Cornelia had it in her."

"Well, she didn't.", Drake said getting their attention. "It was when she along with Alchemy and Cassidy decided to get tougher and stronger that they asked me and Aldern help them train and learn to fight."

"I soon joined them in their training.", Elyon said. "The results of my training reflect well in my powers."

"Cool.", Matt said. "But let's be glad that Caleb and Irma aren't here to see Will and Cornelia sparring. Cause if they were to walk in on this, they'd..."

"GET AWAY FROM HER!", the booming voice of Caleb roared getting the attention of everyone there as they turned to see Caleb with a look of fury on his face as he glared at Cornelia before he charged at her like a mad man.

"Oh no.", was all Hay Lin could say fearing the worse.

A/N: Aw crap! Bad enough that Caleb goes and insults Will. Now he's about to do something that just may cause him to lose Will due to his mistrust of Cornelia. Will this affect the mission that's coming? Only one way to find out folks!

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