CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

Celebrating a birthday in the Element world was one of the last things anyone thought they would be doing. But still, Julius took the clothes that had been given to him by the servants of Mother Nature and Father Time and dressed in them before the big dinner that was going to be held for Crystal. True to her modest nature, his only female cousin didn't want to have much of a fuss made over her. Though her mind was somewhat easily changed once Mother Nature pointed out that they all deserved to have some time to rest and happiness to take their minds off of what they were working towards.

They were always working towards something, Julius noted. It seemed like there wasn't going to be a time where they were able to honestly have a break and not worry about the next danger that was moments away from turning the corner. This time, however, the danger was destroying their home and they were getting the training they needed in a world they hadn't thought existed. Back when Zack, Cody, Max, and Tapeworm had first awakened, it had been easier for them to work with the fights that had come their way as Core and WingzCorp were doing their best to capture them.

Now they were destined to save the world—again—and had no idea where to start or how to get back to Earth to be able to help.

"I feel there's something troubling you," Mother Nature said as she glided into the room, the drapes of her gown flowing behind her. "Is there anything I can help you with? It has come to my attention that Father Time has given you the Oracle Element for your personal use. Does it have to do with that? Is that is what's on your mind?"

Julius nodded then turned to her, the bottom of his cloak dusting against the ground. "I'm aware that the possibility of using the Oracle Element is by taking a portion of Uriel's powers and manifesting them into the stone, yeah?" Mother Nature slowly nodded, her hands resting behind her back. "And that it has the potential to bring back those that we had lost before."

"Yes, child, that is correct."

"But Sydney and Aaron have mentioned that it's possible to defeat Uriel is by going back in time to when Zack and Cody awakened. Is it possible to time travel with the Oracle Element and not only that, but would it cause the present to go aggro?"

"All good questions." Mother Nature thought for a moment then crossed the spacious bedroom to the large bay windows that looked over the spacious grounds. "However, they aren't ones that I can easily answer as some of them are what Father Time can only answer for you. Even then, while he resides over time, he may not have the answers you'd be looking for. The Oracle Element is something that has the ability to do a lot, but is also something that has limited use so I hope you use it for the right reasons."

Julius chewed his lower lip, going over to stand beside Mother Nature. He looked down over the grounds, where some of the servants were putting together the last bits of decorations for the festivities. "If it were possible to bring back those we've lost with the Oracle Element, what will that do to the present? Or the past I believe I should be asking. Would those that return know they were dead? Would the Earth have to reset itself due to the change of those that had been gone for so long?"

"All good questions, child," Mother Nature said. She turned away from the window and faced the eldest of the Elementals. "You and the others have been through a lot as the warriors in this long winded battle. It's good to see that you're all starting to resemble civilians again, it appears that the food of our world have done a great deal to help you as I'm sure tonight's festivities will do the same." She looked hard into Julius's eyes. "And while I can't say what will happen in the future, I believe you all shall make the best decision to end this senseless war and to return the Earth and the Element World back to its original state. No matter what the consequences of your decisions, it'll be something you all shall be proud to have done."

Rolling his eyes, the elemental turned away from the woman that presided over the Element World and raised his hands to his forehead. He was starting to get a headache, the same sort of headache he normally received when he had all of his siblings running and yelling, trying to his get his attention. Not that he didn't find their need for his approval to be annoying by any means, but that it was a lot to take in. Always getting vague answers to their constant questions was something he could live without at the moment. Especially when the lives of those he loved hung in the balance. Or, purgatory as the case may be, as he wasn't sure whether or not the choice for their potential resurrections would come to fruition.

"I understand that this is hard, child, but it is not something you should be worrying yourself with at the moment, this is a time for celebration, something you all deserve." Mother Nature placed her hand on Julius's shoulder and he felt an immediate sense of calm, much like one that a mother's presence near her child would bring. "However, when you're ready to tell me your decision with the Oracle Element…"

Slow, Julius turned around, eyebrows furrowing together as he thought about it. The Oracle Element had been what the Element Stone had been carved out of. They were the items that they had been searching for nearly as long as they had been in Boston, knowing it was something that would help them fend off WingzCorp. But it wasn't until Uriel's existence came about—even before they knew it was Uriel—that they finally managed to get their hands on it. It was used to fight against Mother Time and while it had been successful against her, the power of most of the stones had been combined into the stones that powered Zack's and Cody's, which, in turn, were then placed upon their Sword and Staff. Which Cody had used when in the fight with Patrick.

Now I get it.

"These fights we were doing against each other, it was to see that we were truly the ones to save the world wasn't it?" Julius asked. Mother Nature nodded silently. "The prophecy truly could've been referring to anyone, but you wanted to make sure that it wasn't a bunch of boofheads that stumbled upon a new world no one ever thought had existed. If that were the case, were the match-ups that you created really going to put us against our strongest opponents?"

"I'm sure you've already figured it out, child, but the Ice bearer was indeed to have battled the Water bearer. Just as the thunder-bearer should have gone against the wind-bearer and the spirit bearer should've been your opponent. I'm sure you have the ability to figure out the rest of the match-ups."

Julius thought for a moment, moving through all of the potential match-ups that the group could've gone through. They rarely ever had to fight each other and when the time came, they never used all of their strength to do so. "Zack and Riley…Bailey and Rhuben…Tapeworm and Reihu…" he guessed, receiving a nod from Mother Nature in response. "I understand…not only are you testing our limitations, but you…testing our humility, our morality…our greatest fears."

"And just like everything else in life, there are some things that make it that what we believe will happen shan't happen, that not everything turns out the way we expected or hoped them to. However, there are some things I don't expect you to understand, such as the decision to bring you here was out of my hands. It was not something any of us could control. It was the essence of the Element World that brought you here and it'll be the essence of Earth that'll call you back."

"What if the World is destroyed by then?"

"One thing you have to trust in is that each of our Worlds is alive and they have a presence. Earth will call you back when it needs your help." She turned at the sound of the door to the bed chamber opening once more and gave a smile towards the servant that entered the room. He smiled back before bowing towards her.

"Your highness, everything has been set up and the festivities are about to start," he said. "Shall I call for warriors to come into their places around the kingdom? We can never be sure when those under Uriel's control will come back to attack."

"That won't be necessary, Tama, there have been barriers placed for the occasion." Mother Nature went over to the servant, holding up her hands. "Please, you and the others take the night off. We have everything under control. Thank you for your time."

"You're welcome, your highness. Please enjoy your party." Tama bowed to Mother Nature and Julius before leaving the room. Julius let out a light sigh, shifting his attention towards the way things worked in the Element World. Most of it was in harmony and everyone knew what they were doing when they were to be doing it. And it appeared that those that had the power—Mother Nature and Father Time—treated everyone within their kingdom with the utmost respect.

There was a brief moment of silence between Mother Nature and Julius.

"I know that you have a lot of worries about what is going on," Mother Nature finally said. "I can see that all you want is for you and your family to be happy. I believe you all will make the best choice for you when it comes to what you want in life. I know that you all are the ones that will save both of our worlds."

Now if only we knew how to do that. Julius nodded back to her then left the bed chamber and went down to the grounds as the night sky began to fall. It was as royal of a party as he had ever seen and it was for them. He could see Mother Nature was trying really hard to have them feel welcome to the new world and he did. If it were possible to come back, I'm sure we would be here a lot. If only it was for good reasons, a vacation maybe.

A light smile came across Julius's face as he watched Maddie come across the grass towards him, the draping of her gown dragged across the grass as she did so, the jewels placed along the neckline glimmering with her movements. "Hey," he greeted her, holding out an arm. "You look great." Maddie beamed and moved into his arms, giving him a hug then rewarded him with a kiss.

"Thanks, you look great, too," she remarked then turned to the side, motioning to the festivities. "Can you believe they go this far out for a birthday? It makes me wonder what would happen when a new baby is born."

"They probably get the most attention a baby has ever gotten before," Maddie remarked. "But for one of us?"

"It's not every day that you turn nineteen years old," Julius remarked. He let out a light sigh. "Or twenty-one for that matter. If I live that long." Maddie made a humphing sound and grabbed onto his arm, dragging him across the grass and over to the long table filled with food. The rest of their friends and their guardians were already sitting around the table, filling up their plates with food. "I'm just telling the truth."

"Yes, well, it's not a truth that I want to think about right now," Maddie pointed out. "Right now I'm imagining this place as the Tipton Hotel and Mr. Moseby has made all of these plans for some sort of a massive wedding that's going to be put on." She lowered her head, letting out a low sigh. "And Zack and Cody are running around, trying to take a picture of the million dollar kiss. Things were so easy back then."

"You mean before you met me?" Julius gave a half-smile, receiving an elbow to the side. "Maddie, what if I told you that it might be possible to go back to that time?" He stopped walking and he turned her to face him. "You know that stone that Father Time gave to us? It's called the Oracle Element and there's a possibility that with that, we'll be able to travel back in time to when Zack and Cody first awakened."

"Why would we do that?" Maddie crossed her arms over her chest. "It'd just start this mess all over again."

"Not unless going there gives us a clue as to what it is that will help us defeat Uriel." Julius held up a hand. "I'm not saying it's possible. But think about it, what if we could use the stone to go back to that time to defeat Uriel…and also use it to bring back everyone that we've lost along the way?"

Maddie thought about it for a moment, tilting her head to the side as she did so. She was silent just as long as he had been when he first thought of the possibilities of the Oracle Element and the Book of Esme. There were just too many things for them to be able to do, so many good things they would be able to achieve. But what would happen if they weren't able to fix everything before its power ran out? What if they managed to change something that current existence to change? Would he have moved to Boston at all?

And this is the same reason I hate when they introduce time travel to sci-fi, it just makes things way too confusing. Julius shook his head, the headache coming up once more. I really have to stop thinking about this.

Maddie seemed to have read his mind for she reached out and took his hand. "Let's not worry about it now," she said to him. "Let's actually have some fun for once." The two went over to the table and took the last places open on the table. In a flash of bright blue light, Rudin appeared in Julius's lap, ready to partake in the feat that sat in front of him. Looking around the table, Julius took in the smiling faces of his friends and the slightly embarrassed one of Crystal's as she sat at the head of the table.

If only for the moment, they were all happy to be celebrating something, something that gave them a chance of normalcy in their otherwise fast-paced life. But he truly knew nothing was going to be normal until he got his parents back.

And he was going to make sure it happened.

Rhuben let out a light groan, closing her eyes as she brought a hand from Reihu's shoulder up to her forehead. Her forehead continued to stab with pain as the seconds passed. Frowning, Reihu stopped their slow, circular movement to the light music that played along the grounds, and looked down at his girlfriend.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"No." She closed her eyes even tighter as the pain continued to increase. "Something's wrong." Another groan escaped her lips as she felt the familiar sense of pressure push down on her at all sides. As the pressure increased, she opened her eyes and looked in front of her, watching as everything faded away in front of her. The lights around her started to dim until she was surrounded by nothing but darkness.

Twisting back and forth, she looked around to find a source of light, something that would give her an idea of where to go. Normally even a tiny fragment of light would be around when she was taken over by the darkness, when it was trying to show her something, when it was trying to take over. This time around, she could tell it she wasn't losing hold of her powers. Something about being in the Element World had made it so that she didn't have to focus so much on using most of her powers to concentrate on keeping them at bay. There was something about the energy around the Element Kingdom that kept her from losing control.

Something about being where all of the Elements originated from made things easier. Being around darkness was never easy and was a constant battle. It had gotten easier over the years, having worked hard since she had awakened to hold it down. She had thought Gattaca's presence nearby would have done something that would cause her to lose control. But she continued to be as calm as in the present moment, the darkness continuing to envelop her in its clutches.

Suddenly, a portion of the darkness started to increase in brightness. She slowly walked towards it, her vision rapidly accompanying the darkness that surrounded her. Tilting her head to the side, Rhuben watched as the light continued to increase in brightness until she saw something. A city sky-line, then it changed to that of another sky-line, one she vaguely recognized, then to that of one she called home for a couple of years. The Boston skyline. She could see there were massive holes punched within the sides of buildings, while others continued to stand tall and proud, as if they had been an afterthought. As she continued to watch, the picture within the portal continued to change to different parts of the world, each showcasing the same sort of image she had been afraid to see.

Humans, regular people and elementals alike chained together, others being forced to work, others being forced from their homes. She had seen this before, in many of the history books, during the one subject they studied in depth every year. They're all being forced to work for Uriel…sort of alike an Elemental concentration camp. "We left our homes like this…we abandoned all of those people," she murmured.

"Abandoned isn't the word I'd use, Mistress," DeathLiger said as he padded up beside her. He nuzzled into her side as she lifted her hand and patted him on the head and shoulders. "You had no choice but to brought here, to reach your full potential. Much like the rest of the guardians and I had to go through when we were first given the ability to become our animal spirits. I see you sensed that you were able to control the darkness that much easier here."

Rhuben nodded silently. DeathLiger tilted his head to the side and licked her palm before lowering himself to the ground, resting his chin atop his paws. "That was to be expected," he remarked. "The Element World is a sort of utopia for those that are Elementals. All of the training that you've put in has helped you and your friends more than you could ever imagine."

"Do you think we'll be able to stop Uriel?"

"Being that he holds control over the Element of Life and Death I'd have to say that it will be a tough battle," DeathLiger said calmly. "And being back on Earth when you fight, it will definitely be hard for those that have to deal with the factions of darkness and light that reside in them. It will be especially hard once Uriel realizes that it's the darkness within you that can prove you and the others to be formidable weapons for him. Such as his use of Gattaca before, it had been easy for him to take over the being one he was on Earth rather than in the Element Kingdom."

A chill moved through Rhuben's body as she continued to watch the pictures that flashed by in front of her. Bringing up her hands to her arms, she briskly moved them up and down, trying to generate some heat. DeathLiger moved closer to her and she kneeled down by his side, taking in the heat that radiated off his body. She continued to grow cold, transfixed by the pictures that moved faster and faster as the seconds passed. As they continued to flash by, the pain in her head continued to grow until she was on her knees, screaming and clawing at her head and hair. She screamed and screamed, holding onto her head as tightly as she could, as if trying to hold her head together, it felt like bursting open.

DeathLiger immediately leapt to his paws and ducked his head underneath Rhuben, moving her up onto his back. Removing her hands from her head, she gripped DeathLiger's fur tightly. The darkness started to fade away, the light returning. She blinked hard a few times, as if coming up from a bad night dream with exhaustion forcing her eyes shut, then winced against the harsh light that was around her. Lifting her head she noticed Reihu still standing in front of her, holding onto her tightly. Twisting her head back and forth she spotted her friends as they had been before; Crystal talking to Dricer's parents Arielle and Kohl as she held a bright blue box against her lap—a gift from them she supposed, Zack twirling Riley around the dance floor—he always had been a good dancer—Patrick and Tapeworm enjoying the food that was spread for them, and the others conversing with the servants that were around to make sure the party ran smoothly.

Everything she had seen had been a vision, nothing happened to her.

"What's wrong?" Reihu asked her again.

"I need to get out of here." Rhuben backed away from Reihu and lifted the bottom of the gown she had been given, moving quickly across the grass and back inside the castle. Her footsteps echoed along the long walls as she moved quickly, hoping to get to the bed chambers before anyone stopped her. Reihu followed behind her at a quick pace, much like the lion part of him. "I…I don't know what's wrong," she said as she finally slowed down, trying to catch her breath. "I can't be out there. Something's wrong."

"What did you see?" Reihu stopped in front of her, grabbing onto her shoulders.

"Uriel's done a lot of damage back on Earth," Rhuben said. She then explained everything she had seen, Reihu's face turning darker and darker as she continued until he was scowling so hard she was afraid his face was going to freeze that way. A warning that parents always told their kids as a means to not be rude. Now she was sure he was about to do something stupid. "What?"

Reihu let out a growl and ran his hands over his hair, starting to pace. "Shortly after you guys left WingzCorp, Core had the same idea to make a sort of…camp I guess, for Elementals to stay in. But it was going to be a place where Elementals could live peacefully amongst the humans of Boston and the world. But now….now it's being used by Uriel to cause harm to everyone there." He took a deep breath and turned back to his girlfriend. "It was the Dark Lions' idea for the camp in the first place. Each faction of Wingz Corp; Black Wolves, Dark Lions, Dragon Gang, Spirit-X were supposed to come up with different ideas that Core could use to make sure the government wouldn't be able to continue their research on us."

"And how did he expect to have these things built? Invisibly?"

Reihu waved his hand. He sat down on the end of the bed, resting his chin in his hands. She recognized the look on his face. That he was blaming himself for everything going on back at their home. "I'm going to kill him," he finally said. "I'm going to kill Uriel once I get my hands on him. He caused my family to be broken apart and he's still destroying lives with no thought to it. I want him dead."

"Join the club," Rhuben remarked. She sat down on her bed, mind instantly going back to the visions she had, pushing away the pain that continued to pulse along with her blood flow. It's what she had to deal with, knowing that the darkness was there just as much as her blood, her life force was. "The rest of us want to be the one that delivers that final blow….if it's possible."

"Everyone has a weakness, Rhu, and we'll figure it out for Uriel." Reihu then paused as a look of clarity moved over his face. "I have to get back to Earth. I need to make sure Core is okay." Rhuben's eyebrows rose and she gave him a look of complete bewilderment. "Look, I know it's weird and that's he's done a lot of bad in your life, mine as well. But he was like a father to me in many ways and I wouldn't be able to handle the thought of Uriel doing something to him that I couldn't have done to Uriel first."

A light laugh escaped Rhuben's lips and she shook her head. "Well, you certainly have grown up a lot, become much more than that little kid that followed everyone around."

"Unfortunately, war can do that to you," he remarked, looking her in the eyes.

Rhuben's eyebrows lowered as she pressed her lips together. How right he was. She used to be so different before everything fell apart around her. She was the girl that faced every day with nothing but excitement and happiness, was the peace-maker amongst her siblings, and while she was still close to her, was very close to her twin sister, much like Zack and Cody and Patrick and Noah were to each other. But with everything that had happened, they purposefully distanced themselves from each other in case something permanently separated them. All of her eagerness to see the next day, the happy child that was waiting for each new experience was replaced by a cold, hardened girl that waited for the next battle that was coming her way.

And she hated it.

She hated it so much she was sick.

Reihu reached out and pulled Rhuben against his chest, gently rubbing her band with his hand, his elongated nails lightly scratching her back as he did so. Rhuben held onto him tightly, closing her eyes. For the moment she wanted nothing more than to ignore everything going around them and hope there was something worth living for…

Mother Nature looked down at the part that spread across the grounds of the castle. She looked over as Father Time walked up to her side. She could tell from the look he gave her that he had become aware of the change in energy around them.

It was time for them to go back to Earth.

A/N: So, I had to make one of the hardest decisions when it came to this story, and that was showing off the rest of the match-ups, those that were mentioned in this chapter. For time's sake, I had to take them out so that I could get further into the story and not drag it out as long. Trust me; it was really disappointing when I realized that I had to take it out. But the thing is that I will either write them as one-shots, or write them as flashbacks as I had done with the fight between the Elementals and Mother Nature.

So, as I've said before I was thinking of going back to re-do the Home Series and for those that haven't read it, it was the story that introduced our characters, their back story, and the element world. However as everyone knows, part of the Jacksons' back story is the abuse from their foster father at the time, I was thinking of leaving that element out of the Home series, as it was done there, and putting it in a 'regular story' (like that of DYRADYFA, SMFM, and HMSM) that goes along with the show, as I had done for the 'Suite Life Episode Collection' that had been written a while ago.

But I've also thought of an idea of a 'regular' story where Crystal's mother and the Jacksons's parents were still alive. It's a lot to think about, just wanted to give a heads up about the things that I've been working on.

Cheers,

-Riles