*Yawn* Is tired and sore, but glad to be back! Had junior exits and festival this week…plus other plans for a friend…has been quiet crazy for Crosseyedbutterfly indeed. @_@ No, I haven't forgotten you guys, I was just forced to let something call high school take precedent for a while. Just a little while. Well, enough of my babbling, here's Chapter 3!

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Firesprite was the first to wake that morning, her and Wyndcatcher easily bringing in a couple of large rabbits for them to eat. By the time the rest were up and washed, the small beasts were cleaned and spit over the flames.

"Smells good," said Kenjou, lying beside the fire as he lay on his back facing the ceiling.

"Catch," said Firesprite out of the blue, tossing the stone she'd carried with her thus far on a hunch at the nephew of her closest friend.

"Huh?!" He caught it, blue beams of light shooting out everywhere from the spaces his hands didn't cover. A soft hum came from it as well, filling the whole cave as he stared at it for a moment before dropping it in fear. "Ah!"

"Careful," said Firesprite, picking it up gracefully with a slight frown. "Well…it certainly likes you, doesn't it??"

"I don't get it," said Kenjou, rubbing his hands nervously as he glanced around the room. "What is that thing??"

"It's the Seeker," explained Firesprite, tossing it at Annie next. It began to glow as well, though not as brightly. It hummed, but not as loudly and its power was felt in a lesser way as she held it in her hands. "Hm…interesting…"

"I still don't get it," said Kenjou, looking rather confused. "What's a 'Seeker', Firesprite?"

"It is the stone that leads us to our Chosen, and the Dark side to theirs," said Lili, giving it to Z next. Once again, it glowed and hummed, but it was the same as when it had been given to Annie. She took it from him and extended it towards Allen. "Well, well…hm…Allen, you try it now."

"I don't see why," said Allen, taking it from her hands. "It seems like a waste of time to me…" They all stared as it got no reaction at all, Lili frowning as she took it from him and put it in the pouch she carried it in.

"That's strange…"

"Why didn't it glow for him, Firesprite?" asked Wyndcatcher, his muzzle quivering slightly in puzzlement.

"I'm…not sure," she replied, running a hand through her hair. "I mean, it should've gone off in an explosion of light like the rest…it reacts to all life…"

"Maybe it has to do with before…" said Allen, meeting her eyes meaningfully. She looked away and shook her head.

"No," she said firmly. "Ophelia…she can't keep that back, Allen. Once…given that chance, it is the same as if it had never happened…" She glanced around the room, seeing the others give the two of them puzzled looks. "Look, just forget about it, alright? We'll get it straightened out when we get back to the abbey…"

"Which will be later this afternoon," said Wyndcatcher, pulling the meat off the fire and passing around everyone their portions on wooden plates. "Hurry up and eat, I want to get home."

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It was raining lightly when they appeared in front of the abbey, all of them standing in a circle holding hands so the two Guardians could transport them there.

"Home again," said Firesprite with a sigh, pushing her hair out of her face as the doors opened on their own to let them in. "Wyndcatcher, go round up the others, we need to-"

"Talk," finished Ophelia for her, appearing before her in the blink of an eye. "You have returned, Guardian of the Living. Was is successful?"

"I will not know until Tintaro arrives," replied Firesprite, glancing over her shoulder at the others with her. "I do have someone with me I think you will recognize, though…"

Allen came forward, bowing low as his silver hair fell in cascades about him. "Milady, we have met before, I do believe…"

"The destined one," observed Ophelia, an odd look on her face. "It is good to see that my work has not gone to waste."

"I thank you for your assistance, Guard Ophelia," said Allen with a slow nod.

"Of course, mortal."

"You're back!!" cried Starhunter, flying in from the circular hole in the roof to land before them in a rush of wind. "We were getting worried, Firesprite…"

"I was fine, you scamp," said Firesprite, scratching the dragon's head affectionately. "Where are they others? They should be here by-" *poof* "-now."

"You have returned safely," observed Celeste, giving her a slight nod of approval. "Good work, fellow Guardian."

"Finally," grumbled Tintaro, ignoring those behind the two Guardians who had returned as he held his hand out demandingly. "Now, give me the Seeker!"

"Not yet," said Firesprite, holding up her hand warningly.

"Sorry we're late," said the twin Guardians, popping in suddenly from the side door.

"It's alright, Guardians Tris and Chan," said Firesprite, giving them each a nod before returning to the matter at hand. "Tintaro, there is something wrong with the Seeker."

"What do you mean, wrong with the Seeker??" demanded Tintaro, his face turning and interesting shade of red. "Did you break it?!

"No."

"Then, what makes you say that?!"

"It won't react to Allen, here," said Firesprite, motioning for Allen to come forward again. "It will to his nephew, and the twins, but not to him…"

"Let me see that," said Tintaro, taking it from her hands and saying a few words, a flash of light showing along the surface before he handed it back to her with a grim look on his face. "Now try it."

"Alright…" She turned to Allen, handing it to him carefully.

He took it from her and the moment it touched his hands, it all but exploded with light and sound that filled the room. Waves of blue interspersed with the green that came from it bathed the faces of those who watched, Firesprite turning pale as she realized what it meant.

"No…"

Allen put it down, a fearful but understanding look on his face. "I…it's me, isn't it??"

"What?!" cried Kenjou. "Will someone please explain what's going on here? Why didn't it react to him before??"

"It was set to react the most to those closest to the Chosen," explained Tintaro with a satisfied look on his face. "Now, it was set to react to the one who Is, and it reacted to him. He is the Chosen."

"No!" cried Firesprite, taking the stone from the pillar it had been set on and saying a few words of her own over it before putting it back in her pouch. "It can't…it has to be wrong!!"

Allen held out his arms beseechingly. "Lili…please, I…"

"Never!!" she cried, pushing him away as she looked at him with eyes that were bright with unshed tears. "I've put too much of myself into this just to let it all be…blown away like this! I cannot- will not accept this! Ophelia, he died once, he cannot take this role since he has been there already, right?!" Seeing her friend nod her head slowly, Firesprite felt herself fall apart inside. "No…there has to be someone else, anyone! Just not him…!"

Annie, Kenjou, and Z stepped back some, watching as the Guardians folded around their fellow Guardian and Allen stood beside her as well. Firesprite fell to the floor in her grief, blocking her from sight as Tris and Chris detached themselves from the group to come stand beside the trio.

"The whole point of me becoming Guardian was to protect you and the others!" they heard through the rest. "To protect you from harm and danger for as long as you would live…"

"Shh," whispered Allen from somewhere in the group. "I know, I know…but now it's my turn to be the protector…"

"Come," said Tris, turning her back on the display and heading out one of the side doors. Her voice cracked as she tried to control the emotion that was in it. "There is nothing you can do to help her, and you are tired and hungry. We will show you where you can sleep and give you something to eat."

"Our thanks," said Z, answering for all of them as he followed them down the hall. Kenjou hesitated for a second, wishing to remain with his uncle but following as Annie shook her head and tugged on his sleeve gently.

"When will we see them again?" asked Annie, coming up even beside Tris.

"Hopefully in the morning," answered Chris with a shrug. "Guardian Firesprite is…special to us. She will be taken care of in the best way possible that the elders can think of."

"I take it you do not count to be among the 'elders'?" asked Kenjou, smiling wryly.

"No, we do not," replied Tris, shrugging as she did. "We are allowed to do our duties, and sit in on most of the meetings, but that is it. Even though we have been here longer than some of the 'Senior' members and just don't age very fast…"

"Granted, it's not like we fight to be allowed to do more," added Chan with a slight smile. "I happen to enjoy sleeping in most mornings and not staying up into the wee hours of the dawn just to finish this or that report. Being treated like a kid for a little while longer will do me no harm."

"That is very true," admitted Annie with a slight smile.

"Here it is," said Chris, opening a door on their left. Inside were three large beds and a table full of food. A couple of doors opened up into there as well, showing the rooms they branched off into. "Through the door on the right is the baths, and the closet over there holds clothes all of you can use until yours are cleaned and mended. Dinner is here for you, as you can see, and we will discuss what is to happen next in the morning."

"Thank you," said Annie, bowing respectfully to them before going in and falling to the food with a will.

"Yes, thanks," added her twin and Kenjou, joining her there quickly. The twins smiled at each other and disappeared down the hall, the door shutting behind them as they did.

"They will be fine," said Tris to Chris quietly. "Come, lil bro, we have other things to attend to."

"I know," he replied with a nod.

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Annie sat on her bed with Z sprawled beside her, Kenjou sitting across from them backwards in a chair. They had all let themselves soak in the large tub in the other room, the water appearing clean by the time the next one entered. Clothed in warm, soft tunics and pants and stuffed full of delicious food, they were content to lie back for a while and relax for once. Bantering back and forth, with their eyes beginning to feel heavy and yawns punctuating their conversation occasionally, it was a very relaxed atmosphere indeed.

"Ok, Kenjou," said Z after awhile, stretching out his back with a sigh. "Do you have any idea what was going on out there earlier, between him and Lili? There has to be something, for there to be a show like that. Allen's your uncle, after all, and you do see him the most out of all of us …"

"Any understanding we have might help us understand what exactly is going on around us," added Annie with nod. "Come on, Keni, I know you're hiding something, so spill."

"Look," said Kenjou, turning pink at the use of her 'pet-name' for him. He hadn't heard her use it in years… "All I know is what my mother told me. That, and what I got from Uncle Allen's and Aunt Lili's journals."

"I'm not going to ask how you got them," said Z lightly, waving his hand slightly. "That is probably suicidal information to have, right?? But, go on. This sounds interesting."

"Well, Allen and Lili were good friends before the 'Wars', as we know it," explained Kenjou, settling himself more comfortably on the chair with his hair partially obscuring his face. "Then Genki returned and they went together to defeat that evil guy. Some things happened while they were gone…Lili saved Allen's life, she broke them out of prison at one point…stuff like that. The adventures we've all heard bits and parts about our whole life. Like we could help it, being related to such famous people…anyways…things were going as we have always heard. But, well, Lili and Allen apparently cared for each other as more than friends, though. It's rather obvious in the time Lili almost killed herself to save Uncle Blue. Yeah, the big, blue stone-ice guy who's always with Aunt Pixie. Allen had fit, yelled at her so much she refused to talk to him for a while. So, yeah…" Kenjou went on and explained about Allen and Genki's capture, and Allen being planted with the dark seed. Then Lili killing him to save the rest, and the Phoenix bringing him back from the dead  with Ophelia's consent and help to live to his 'true destiny'. Then, Lili becoming the Guardian of the Living to replace the Phoenix and the order returning to the Monster World once more. It lasted for an hour or more, but by the time it was done Annie and Z had a much better understanding on things than before.

"Wow," said Annie, resting her chin in her hand as she stared into the distance sadly. "I…uh, I don't know what to say…or to think, for that matter."

"My uncle has what he calls the 'Allen Complex'," explained Kenjou, looking at Annie out of the corner of his eye. "That means he can't admit his true feelings for another…even when it means losing the person in the process…like Lilianne, or Firesprite as she is now called."

Annie averted her eyes, coughing slightly. Tucking a bit of hair behind her ear, she studied her hand and shrugged slightly as she waited for one of the other two to say something.

"Let's leave it for the morning," suggested Z, dragging himself off her bed and into his own, leaving his slippers and shirt on the floor before drawing the curtains closed and mumbling a muffled goodnight to the other two.

"Well, I guess that settles it," said Annie, avoiding Kenjou's eyes and she quickly shut the curtain to her bed as well. "Night, you two."

"Night," whispered Kenjou, swallowing as he picked up the chair and put it back at the table, climbing into his own bed as well. He wished he could…well…but he was too much like his uncle in that respect. Smiling wryly, he sighed and rolled over, falling a sleep before his head touched the pillow.

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Holly and Genki stared at the dawn; her things packed in the book bag and her blades on her feet. The light touched her brown hair, giving it golden strands that shone like the sun and a sparkle in her eyes that he had not seen for days. "Are you sure?" asked Genki for the tenth time, a worried look on his face.

"I am," replied Holly, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek in reassurance. "Someone has to tell her, Genki! Kenjou's mother would kill us if she found out we'd kept something like this from her… Besides, I cannot sit about here and do nothing no longer. I'll go crazy if I try! Right now, keeping Kenjou's mother informed is the best thing I can do."

"As well as her mother," groaned Genki with a nod. "René is a very sweet woman, yes, but also extremely protective of her kin…"

"That's a good thing, dear," said Holly, shouldering her pack and making sure her pendent was in place. "I'll be back before you know it, I promise…"

"If this weren't necessary, I wouldn't let you do this…" said Genki, giving her a final hug before backing off a step. "Take care, Holly. Phoenix's speed!"

"And Phoenix's strength!" Holly called back over her shoulder with a grin. "Bye!"

Genki watched sadly as Holly disappeared into the trees, leaving him alone to wait for their children's return. It would be a very long, silent, and lonely wait, now, indeed…

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Kenjou woke first as sunrays from a skylight that he had not noticed the night before filtered down into his bed. He softly groaned as he raised himself from the bed, of course he'd be the one with the bed in just the right angle to be awoken at dawn!

Glancing about the room as he tried to get his hair in order, he noticed Annie had opened the curtains to her bed sometime the night before. A look at where her brother slept showed a hand sticking out through the curtains on the floor and loud, obnoxious snores coming from its occupant inside.

He looked back at Annie, sitting down in the chair beside her bed where he'd slept the night before. A hand tucked under her pillow and the other clasping in the blanket to herself with the whole things surrounding her like a nest of some sort, he could've sworn she looked like she'd never hurt another being in her entire life. Her hair was sticking every which way, and his fingers itched to settle it -but he got up and moved towards the door, aware that he had been sitting there far longer than he should have already.

Grabbing a muffin from the breakfast that had been set out on the table, he changed clothes into the ones that were set out for them in the closet before heading out into the hall, retracing his steps from the night before. The gray tunic and pants fit comfortably, and went well with the cream over tunic that came with it. The whole thing was trimmed with silver thread, in a loopy pattern that had taken him a moment to puzzle out when he'd realized it was there.

Finding the main hall was no problem, threading his way along with through the narrow and twisted halls. He looked about it, finding it to be empty other than the dragon that had been there the day before in the middle of the room, staring longingly at the throne at one end with a banner for every Guardian behind it. "Hello?" said Kenjou softly, coming up behind the scaled beast rather timidly. His weapons and whip had disappeared with his clothes, leaving him defenseless other than his instincts, and he had no idea how this being would react to his presence.

"Hm?" The dragon's head swiveled around slightly, the silver scales glinting in the light as a silver-blue eye regarded him in surprise. "Oh, it's you! You were one of those who accompanied the Chosen." He turned and bowed, his neck tilting slightly as he inspected the small human before him. "I am Starhunter, Guardian of the Skies. Is there someway I can help you, mortal?"

Kenjou nodded. "I am looking for my Uncle-"

"Go that way," said Starhunter, his voice ringing slightly as he pointed to the hall behind him. "You will find He who was Chosen in the room with the Guardian of the Living's name on it. I can say no more." With that, the beast leapt into the air and spread out his wings, going through the circular opening in the ceiling into the skies.

"Whoa," said Kenjou, staring after Starhunter for a few moments before shaking himself free of the daze. "Ok…down that hallway in the room marked with Lili's-or Firesprite's- name."

Kenjou looked once more around the plain, stone room before going down the hallway that had been indicated slowly. The hall was wider here, and taller, big enough that creatures like Starhunter could fit down it two or three abreast with ease. Each door was heavily ornamented, and had a name or word carved into the frame in a flowing script that took the young man a moment to figure it out so he could go on.

"Scrolls," read Kenjou, looking at every door on either side of the hall. "Starhunter… Tintaro… Celeste…Bookkeeping….Ancient Histories… hmm…Tris…Chan…Firesprite!!" The door he wanted was slightly open, so he peaked inside and hoped he wasn't coming in at a bad time. Allen lay sprawled across the bed, still fully clothed and his legs hanging off the edge as if he'd just fallen off it after a long night of…whatever it'd been he'd been doing.

Kenjou stepped back away from the door and knocked loudly, hearing his uncle answer groggily a few moments later. "Huh? Someone out there??"

"Just me, Uncle," said Kenjou, walking in and sitting beside the bed in a chair he dragged over from the desk. "So tell me, what are you doing in Aunt Lili's bed??"

"In what?" Allen glanced around, looking somewhat confused. "So that's where they led me last night…"

"Good grief, Uncle, you didn't even ask?! What if you'd ended up spending the night with that old Time Keeper lady and she'd decided to partake of your 'youthful innocence'?!" teased Kenjou, laughing lightly.

"I was so out of it I doubt I would've noticed if the huge dude with the wild hair had tried to," replied Allen with a shrug. He sat up slowly and yawned as he stretched his arms. "By the Phoenix, that was a long night…"

"That good, huh?" asked Kenjou with a wink.

"Enough of that from you, nephew," said Allen, sitting up suddenly, flinging a pillow at his younger relative. "You must respect your elders, you know!"

"I do," protested Kenjou, ducking under the flying missile. "At least those who count."

"Hey!"

"He does have a point, you know," added Lili from the doorway, a tired smile on her face with the pillow in her hands. "Good morning Allen, Kenjou."

"Morning, Aunt Lili!"

"Morning…Firesprite."

"Where did you sleep last night?" asked Kenjou, looking rather confused. "Uncle says you weren't in here, and this is your room…"

"I didn't," replied Firesprite with a shrug. "There were other things to be taken care of, Keni."

"I take it some it was what is to happen next," said Allen, standing and straightening his clothes some.

"Yes, it did," replied Firesprite slowly, leaning on her desk with her head bowed. "I suppose you'll want to know now instead of waiting until later…"

"Yep," replied Kenjou, settling down more comfortably so he could listen better.

"It would be nice," added Allen, tying back his silver hair with a bit of hemp from his pocket.

"You are going on the journey of the Trials," said Firesprite softly. "And then, perhaps, to find the Crown. You will be told of it more later on. As for you, Kenjou, and the twins, you will come with me to find the Portal that will lead you back to the Mortal Realms."

"Aww, I wanna stick around to see Allen become the Chosen One," muttered Kenjou. "You always get all the fun, Uncle."

"Somehow, I don't get the feeling it won't be fun," said Allen to himself, seeing the way Firesprite refused to meet his gaze head on.

"There won't be much for you to see anyways, you would only be in the way," said Firesprite, going to stand before Kenjou and putting her hand on his shoulder. "Please, go wake the others and get them to the main hall, we are leaving soon as it your Uncle. I must tell Allen of his Trials before it is time…"

"Yes, Aunt Lili," said Kenjou solemnly, understanding this was not the time for fun and games. He stood and bowed respectfully. "Thank you, for helping us as you have."

"It is what I owe your family," Firesprite reminded him, slightly returning the bow. Kenjou nodded and headed out the door, breaking into a trot as soon as he was out of sight. He had to get back to Annie and Z quickly if they were to have time to get packed…things were definitely starting to pick up again.

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It's not a cliffie, really it isn't!! Just think of it as…and slightly shortened chapter? A section without a real conclusion?? 0.o Please don't not review because of it, please!! *sob*

Anywho, let me know what you think and such…it is kind to do so. Much thanks to those of you who reviewed before ^_^ I love you guys!!

Love and Peace! Ducks and Geese!

~Crosseyedbutterfly~